Rumor: THE INHUMANS Movie Is Canceled
Bleeding Cool is reporting that The Inhumans movie, currently slated to finish out Marvel Phase Three after the release of Avengers: Infinity War Part II, is being shelved. The site claims that this comes as a result of conflict between Marvel Studios and Marvel TV, conflict that has always been there but has escalated into war following the coup that saw Kevin Feige escape the yoke of mad billionaire Isaac Perlmutter. If you were to be watching Agents of SHIELD (which has improved yet again in its third season, but is still hovering somewhere just south of actually good) you would know that the Inhumans are a huge plot point for the show, with a release of terrigen crystals into the environment triggering new Inhumans all over the place. Bleeding Cool says that Marvel Studios wants to fuck TV by taking the Inhuman royal family off their slate.
Maybe? I don't know - this sounds Machiavellian in a way that I don't fully buy. I've reached out to some Marvel sources, but until I hear back here's my current reasoning:
If Feige were going full Don Corleone on Marvel TV getting rid of The Inhumans is the wrong way to do it. It doesn't hurt TV at all; in fact, it gives them a clearer playing field to do whatever the hell they like with the Inhumans. If anything, making an epic Inhumans movie set in Attilan and featuring the royal family would only reinforce how small and cheap the TV shows are. If you wanted to hurt Marvel TV that's how you do it, by reminding everybody they live in your shadow.
There's something else that makes me wonder about this rumor: I have heard time and again that Adam McKay wants to do The Inhumans. He's a huge Marvel guy and he came within signing distance of directing Ant-Man; he ended up with a screenplay credit. McKay wants to play in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and The Inhumans looks right up his alley. It's a Kirby property, and he loves Kirby. It's an ensemble piece, and he loves ensembles. It's got a lot of room for humor. And it's chock full of politics, which has been a driving force of McKay's work for the last couple of years. What kind of statements could McKay make about real world politics using the royal family of Inhumans? A lot, I reckon.
On top of all that The Inhumans feels something like a slam dunk. It's another Guardians of the Galaxy, opening up a new part of the MCU and allowing a lot of new and merchandisable characters to enter, especially the big dog Lockjaw. The pitch - a Game of Thrones with super-powered people - just sells itself. I have a hard time believing that Marvel Studios would let such a good concept go just for spite.
Of course anything is possible. Bleeding Cool's sources aren't bad. I suspect their sources are in TV, since the site has been very anti-Feige since the Perlmutter divorce. The site also claims to be getting this info afterhours at New York Comic-Con, which really indicates they're hearing it all from TV/comics people, ie folks who aren't directly involved in Marvel Studios. Still, Studios isn't averse to changing up their announced schedule, as we have already seen with Black Panther and Captain Marvel bouncing all over the place. This rumor is at the very least plausible, until I can get it confirmed or denied.
