Will It Be Revival or RIP for Marvel Television During NYCC 2026?

Posted in: Conventions, Disney+, Events, Movies, NYCC, Pop Culture, TV, TV | Tagged: Marvel Television, NYCC

Will It Be Revival or RIP for Marvel Television During NYCC 2026?

With rumblings that Marvel Television is scaling back on its live-action shows, what will Brad Winderbaum have to say during NYCC 2026?

Article Summary

• Marvel Television’s NYCC 2026 panel could be Brad Winderbaum’s biggest chance to answer live-action scale-back fears.
• With VisionQuest near release and Daredevil: Born Again leading the slate, Marvel Television needs fresh surprises.
• Possible Marvel Television reveals include Special Presentations, a Hawkeye return, or a Daredevil: Born Again spinoff.
• Disney cuts and Bob Iger’s volume reset fueled the belief that Marvel Television became a scapegoat for MCU stumbles.

One of the most important panels scheduled for New York Comic Con (NYCC) will take place on Thursday, October 8th – and we have a feeling that it’s going to generate a whole lot more buzz between now and then. In the schedule description that was released for “Up Next From Marvel Television and Marvel Animation,” attendees will be able to “Join special guests for an inside look at Marvel Television and Marvel Animation’s most anticipated upcoming series on Disney+.” Considering the current state of Marvel Television, this will be the best opportunity for Marvel Television and Marvel Animation’s Brad Winderbaum to counter the growing narrative that Marvel Studios is abandoning live-action series. As we outline in the “history lesson” below, larger Disney issues have resulted in programming cuts across the board – with television/streaming being hit particularly hard. Not only did that reduce the number of shows being made, but it also shifted the focus toward more “street-level” live-action shows (a nice way of saying shows with lower budgets).

That’s why we were surprised to see that Marvel Television was having a session at NYCC, and we’ve been rolling under the assumption that most of it would focus on Marvel Animation’s offerings. We’ve got Paul Bettany-starring VisionQuest debuting six days after NYCC, and already know that’s a one-and-done. And then there’s Charlie Cox and Vincent D’Onofrio-starring Daredevil: Born Again, returning in March for its third season – and the final shining hope on the live-action. Could we see a series of “Special Presentation” specials announced? Maybe a spinoff from “Born Again”? There were rumblings lately that Werewolf by Night could get a second “special presentation,” and Jeremy Renner‘s been hinting about a Hawkeye return of some type. Meanwhile, about a month before NYCC, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II will learn if he’s an Emmy Award winner for Wonder Man, a series Marvel canceled after it had originally renewed it… and after it scored a nomination for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series.

Marvel Studios Made TV/Streaming Shows Scapegoats for MCU Woes

During a July 2023 interview with CNBC, then-Walt Disney Company CEO Bob Iger made it clear that changes were on the way to the number of films and shows Marvel Studios would be producing moving forward. “You pull back not just to focus, but also as part of our cost containment initiative. Spending less on what we make, and making less,” Iger shared, offering Marvel’s move into original streaming content as an example. A year later, Iger would have a number to share during the company’s quarterly earnings call: “We’re slowly going to decrease volume and go to probably about two TV series a year instead of what had become four and reduce our film output from maybe four a year to two, or a maximum of three.”

Speaking with David Faber for CNBC’s Squawk Box during Idaho’s Sun Valley Conference, Iger didn’t mince words when he offered who he thought was to blame for Marvel Studios’ woes. “There have been some disappointments. We would have liked some of our more recent releases to perform better. It’s reflective not as a problem from a personnel perspective, but I think in our zeal to basically grow our content significantly to serve mostly our streaming offerings, we ended up taxing our people way beyond — in terms of their time and their focus — way beyond where they had been,” Iger said. “Marvel’s a great example of that. They had not been in the TV business at any significant level. Not only did they increase their movie output, but they ended up making a number of television series, and frankly, it diluted focus and attention. That is, I think, more of the cause than anything.”

But in October 2023, Brad Winderbaum, Marvel’s head of streaming, television & animation, who was bumped up to Head of Marvel Television, Animation, Comics & Franchise earlier this year after more major across-the-board changes and cuts at Disney, offered us some hope. “We’re trying to marry the Marvel culture with the traditional television culture,” he shared. “It comes down to, ‘How can we tell stories in television that honor what’s so great about the source material?'” That would include embracing the idea of showrunners, having television executives overseeing shows (not film executives), a return to having a “pilot season,” and a commitment to shows having multi-season runs.

Since that time… have things gotten better? Yes, Marvel Animation is killing it with animated projects like X-Men ’97 and Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man. But on the live-action side, what’s really left? We’ve got a third season of Daredevil: Born Again, but we will never think of that as a Marvel Studios series. It was a Netflix series that kicked so much ass that Marvel Studios had no choice but to bring it back – especially after early efforts to “MCU-ize” the magic that Cox and D’Onofrio helped create resulted in a good chunk of the first season being scrapped or retooled. And guess who was brought in to help right the ship? Yup, the folks behind the Netflix series.

Just so we’re clear, I’m not saying that streaming series didn’t play a role in the bigger-picture issues that Marvel Studios has suffered from – but it’s also not a smoking gun. A run of lackluster and creatively questionable films didn’t exactly help matters. Let’s not forget “The Great Streaming Wars,” when every studio believed that the grass was greener on Netflix’s side, so they took their shot at the king – and made some questionable calls along the way. In the end, Netflix would still keep the crown, leaving everyone else to lick their wounds and roll out a number of brutal cost-cutting measures. And then there are those who believe Marvel Studios’ MCU suffered from not rebooting after Avengers: Endgame, requiring viewers to do more MCU homework to understand what’s going on before checking out a new film or show. Whatever the case, it will be interesting to see what’s said (and not said) during next month’s NYCC panel.

Enjoyed this? Please share on social media!

Stay up-to-date and support the site by following Bleeding Cool on Google News today!