Marvel Television is no more, and Kevin Feige is now in charge of...well, everything. However, that's left us with a lot of uncertainty when it comes to the future of characters in shows like Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. and The Defenders.
During Disney+'s virtual TCA Press Tour panel today, the Marvel Studios President was asked if those Netflix properties are back in his more than capable hands.
"I think we probably could do it, I think a lot of that stuff comes back to us," he responded when asked about making use of those heroes and villains. "There’s always rumors online about things reverting, sometimes that’s true, sometimes it’s not, but I’m not exactly sure of the exact contracts but perhaps someday."
"My history at Marvel is vast and involved zero control for a long time so I paid more attention to the things I gained control over rather than the things I didn’t have control over. TV at that time was just one of those things that we didn’t, just like when Fox was doing X-Men movies or Sony was doing Spider-Man movies without us," Feige adds. "That was just the rules under which Marvel was operating at the time. It was much more of an opportunity and something that excited us at Marvel Studios when Bob Iger started asking us to work on shows for Disney+. It wasn’t a disappointment or something we thought much about when Marvel Television was doing their series."
Feige was then asked specifically about Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., and he reiterated his previous comments (while highlighting one cast member, in particular). "There are often rumors that are true and there are often rumors that are not. It was great fun to have Clark Gregg come back to the MCU in Captain Marvel. Everything else, we’ll just have to see."
Interestingly, when it was suggested that these Marvel Television shows weren't overly successful, Feige went on the defence. Despite the fact that different teams made them, he noted: "I think there are legions of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. fans and Daredevil fans and Jessica Jones fans and Luke Cage fans. There’s a very big fanbase for those shows."
So, nothing is off the table, but Feige continues to choose his words carefully. It remains likely that Daredevil will be the first character to make his MCU debut - in Spider-Man: No Way Home - but beyond that, it appears these small screen heroes and villains will slowly find their way into this shared world.