Is the end of Marvel Television’s live-action era upon us?
Marvel Studios Multiverse Saga changed the way fans consumed MCU content. Beginning with WandaVision, Marvel used Disney Plus to bolster its slate by pushing out short streaming series intended to fill the gaps between character appearances in films. Now, as the studio’s second saga comes to an end, fans have begun to wonder if its foray into live-action TV will end soon as well.
Though there’s no official answer from Disney, the evidence is starting to pile up. Following a sophomore slump in viewership, Daredevil: Born Again has yet to be renewed for a fourth season even as the third season has completed production. Wonder Man, one of the studio’s best-received series, was abruptly cancelled by Disney after having recently been renewed. Nova, a project which has pinballed between theatrical and streaming for years, is back in development as a film. And now, two more projects which have long been thought to be headed to D+ are reportedly being reworked for theaters as well.
According to industry insider Daniel Richtman, Marvel is considering revamping Champions and StrangeAcademy as potential films rather than streaming series.
Though neither project has ever been officially announced by Marvel to be in development, both have made plenty of news over the past few years. Shrinking writer Rachna Fruchbomwas reported to have landed the gig developingChampions–which the studio was once reportedly planning to put into production this year–while the on-again-off-again Strange Academywas most recently back on again, pending a new writer coming on board.
Outside of Champions and Strange Academy, the studio doesn’t any have streaming projects that are even rumored to be in development, leading to speculation that Marvel’s live-action streaming era may be coming to an end soon. And with the studio only looking to push out a maximum of 3 films each year, there’s certainly no guarantee that either of these projects will ever make it to the big screen.
