Yesterday, we learned that Marvel Television head Jeph Loeb will soon be ousted from the company now that Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige is Chief Creative Officer.
Well, more details have emerged today about what led to that, and, well, it sounds like it might be hard for Loeb to find a new place to work based on a lot of what's revealed here. We also have intel on Marvel Entertainment CEO Ike Perlmutter's future with the company, behind the scenes details about future Marvel TV projects and a $100,000 wig (really).
It's certainly going to be an interesting few months for Marvel's small screen division as major changes are made, and you can find everything you need to know by hitting the "View List" button!
Marvel Studios Pulls The Plug On Marvel Television Projects
It's said that, in recent months, efforts to develop live-action TV shows have failed over at Marvel Television. That includes the long-rumoured series from John Ridley, a show we may now never know the premise for (there's been speculation about that for years).
However, despite the fact that Feige is now concentrating on Disney+, ABC reportedly remains committed to having Marvel on the network and as of August, they were developing another show. No further details than that have been revealed, but it's possible it will somehow be linked to Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., a series which concludes its lengthy run next year.
We'll have to wait and see whether Feige lets that happen, however.
Has Marvel Television Always Been At The Mercy Of Marvel Studios?
It's been hard to ignore the fact that the Marvel TV shows are barely set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, with the Netflix series pretty much stuck after the events of
The Avengers (which was released in 2012) and the rest barely referencing what happens on the big screen.
Well, it's said that
"many of them had strict rules about integrations with the MCU" which explains a lot! It sounds like Marvel Television bosses were also disappointed by the way
Ghost Rider's cancellation was handled because that
"is said to have shocked and embarrassed Marvel Television honchos." For those of you who missed that, it was scrapped before shooting even began!
The Writing Has Been On The Wall For Jeph Loeb For A While
It was on October 15th that we learned Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige is set to take creative control of the TV shows and comic books as well as what we see on the big screen and Disney+. However, it sounds like Jeph Loeb's fate was decided long before that move was made.
Apparently, the Marvel Television boss
"had been prepping to leave well before the Oct. 15 news that Kevin Feige had been elevated to Marvel's chief creative officer." He's expected to officially announce his departure by Thanksgiving and is already looking for a new home.
A Series Of Bad Decisions
So, how did the man who launched shows like
Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. and
Daredevil wind up being ousted from Marvel? Well, it sounds like a string of bad decisions played a key role.
New Warriors being scrapped was considered an embarrassment, as was what happened with the animated
Deadpool series which was supposed to air on FX (Emmy winner Donald Glover didn't shy away from making it clear that Marvel was responsible for the show not moving forward).
However,
Inhumans might have marked the beginning of the end. It was an expensive mess and pricey reshoots were a major problem, including $100,000 to fix Medusa's wig with VFX.
Will Marvel Entertainment's CEO Be Next To Go?
It's no secret that Feige frequently clashed with Marvel Entertainment CEO Ike Perlmutter, and it was that which led to Feige requesting Marvel Studios be made a separate entity. Now, though, insiders say there's shock within the company that the CEO been forced to hand creative control of everything over to Feige, and his influence within Marvel is said to be diminishing.
Perlmutter's insistence on a "creative committee" run by former executive Alan Fine was a big problem, and it's said that his frugality has fostered a lot of resentment (apparently,
"Tales of employees digging paper clips out of trash cans to save on office-supply expenditures are as much a part of Marvel lore as Spider-Man’s origin story is.").
His political beliefs are also believed to be problematic, as he's a huge Trump supporter and this has reportedly caused problems for Marvel and Disney in a Hollywood that's becoming increasingly more progressive. "One executive recalls that a Muslim American television writer cited Perlmutter’s support for Trump when declining an opportunity to work on a Marvel project."
Now, there's some belief that he could be completely phased out of his CEO position due to the fact that he's essentially powerless over what the company is putting out there.
Many thanks to The Hollywood Reporter and Variety for the information used throughout this post.