IMAX Corp., Marvel Television, a unit of Marvel Entertainment, and Disney|ABC Television Group today announced an innovative agreement to exclusively premiere the new ABC series “Marvel’s The Inhumans” in IMAX commercial theatres, marking the first time a live-action television series has debuted in this manner.
Under the agreement, a version of the first two episodes of Marvel Television’s new series “Marvel’s The Inhumans” – produced in conjunction with ABC Studios and filmed entirely with IMAX digital cameras – will run worldwide exclusively in IMAX for two weeks at the beginning of September 2017. ABC plans to then premiere the weekly series in fall, with additional exclusive content that can only be seen on the network.
The Inhumans, a diverse race of superhumans with varied and singularly unique powers, were first introduced in Marvel Comics by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby in 1965. Since that time, they have grown in prominence and numbers, and become some of the most popular and iconic characters in the Marvel Universe.
ABC, IMAX and Marvel Television also intend to work together to create a joint marketing and promotion plan for the series across their proprietary media platforms – which would be the first such cross-platform marketing launch of a television series. Today’s agreement also marks IMAX’s first time as a financing participant in a TV pilot and series.
“This unprecedented alliance represents a bold, innovative approach to launching great TV content for a worldwide audience,” said Ben Sherwood, co-chairman, Disney Media Networks and president, Disney|ABC Television Group. “It highlights Disney|ABC’s unrelenting commitment to finding new and creative ways to showcasing our very best programming and increasing global engagement and reach.”
Ok comic book geeks, for those of us who aren’t Marvel universe experts, what can we expect in terms of diversity when it comes to characters that make up the Inhumans? Given that this is ABC television, I can only assume that casting of the series will be diverse, even if it means straying from the original source material and upsetting fanboys and girls.
