One of the biggest issues with recent Marvel TV shows is dodgy structure. While shows like WandaVision and She-Hulk play well to their TV structure, other series like Moon Knight or Falcon and The Winter Soldier feel like they could’ve been movies.
With this in mind, it’s not unsurprising to hear that Marvel is changing tact on its Disney Plus releases. While some Marvel shows will still be made, others are going to be the modern equivalent of TV movies.
Marvel turns towards TV movies
According to The Cosmic Circus, Marvel is looking to experiment more with single-run specials instead of complicated TV productions. Due to the mixed reception of shows in the MCU, the studio wants to try out new formats.
Starting with Werewolf by Night, Marvel will be testing out a new format: "Marvel Studios Special Presentation." This will then be followed by The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special. Both of these events are expected to be around 50 minutes long.
Marvel Studios is reportedly looking to make Special Presentations more regular releases, instead of Halloween or Christmas celebrations. With these tighter, more focused stories, Marvel will be able to have better quality control than individual TV episodes.
Allegedly, rumoured Black Panther and Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings spinoffs will no longer be TV shows. Instead, they will be tightened up and turned into single hour-long stories for Disney Plus subscribers.
Other potential Marvel Studios Special Presentation characters include Nova and Wonder Man. However, those characters receiving their own material is still just a rumour at the time of writing.
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Perfect for comic books
The idea of turning live-action MCU productions into one shots is a good idea. In comic books, many characters are introduced in one shot stories that create an idea that gets expanded on later.
For example, the most popular superhero of all time, Spider-Man, was introduced in a one shot comic book. In fact, a large amount of Marvel comic book characters were conceived that way.
While many maybe upset that their favourite obscure character won’t get a huge TV production, this makes sense for smaller shows. Is the mainstream audience going to watch an 8-episode series on Big Wheel? No! (Although, Sony should definitely make a movie about him.)
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