Disney is bringing back the Marvel Television banner in an attempt to tell fans they can "jump in anywhere" in the increasingly complex Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU).
Speaking to Comic Book, Marvel Studios head of TV, streaming, and animation Brad Winderbaum said Avengers: Endgame "maybe" caused fans to feel obligated to watch everything in order to keep up with the MCU's interwoven storylines.
Marvel Television, a banner previously used for separate productions like Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. and what were once Netflix shows like Daredevil (which are now MCU canon anyway), was folded into the overall Marvel Studios brand in 2019.
"We want to make sure that Marvel stays an open door for people to come in and explore," Winderbaum said. "On the heels of Endgame, I think there was, maybe, a little bit of an obligation to watch absolutely everything in order to watch anything."
Winderbaum said that comics are designed to be entered from anywhere and explored at the reader's discretion, and Marvel wants the same to apply to its film and TV show franchise.
"Part of the rebranding of Marvel Studios, Marvel Television, Marvel Animation, even Marvel Spotlight is to, I think, try to tell the audience: 'You can jump in anywhere.'" Winderbaum said. "They're interconnected but they're not. You don't have to watch A to enjoy B. You can follow your bliss. You can follow your own preferences and find the thing you want within the tapestry of Marvel."
Agatha All Along will be the first show under the revisited Marvel Television banner when it premieres September 18, but Daredevil: Born Again and Ironheart will follow suit. Agatha All Along is a spin-off to WandaVision, a series which pulls from plotlines in Avengers: Age of Ultron, Infinity War, and Endgame alongside other Marvel films, and continues into the likes of Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness and The Marvels.
Daredevil: Born Again, meanwhile, is a continuation of the 161 hours of shows developed for Netflix, with the character since appearing in Spider-Man: No Way Home, She-Hulk: Attorney at Law, and Echo. Ironheart has the least amount of background viewing by a long shot, having so far only appeared in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.
This Marvel Television announcement has already caused a bit of confusion among the fan base, however, as Disney released Echo under the Marvel Spotlight banner to indicate the same thing. Winderbaum himself said "our audience doesn’t need to have seen other Marvel series to understand what’s happening in [Echo]," and any show created with the same idea would similarly receive the Marvel Spotlight banner.
Marvel has struggled to keep fans interested post Endgame as the amount of MCU content has increased exponentially. While the original Phase 1 lasted just 12 hours and 24 minutes, for example, Phase 4 lasted 54 hours and 40 minutes. And that's before Marvel made the 160 hours of Netflix shows canon too.
Disney CEO Bob Iger said the volume of shows has "diluted focus and attention" of fans and in response Marvel will release no more than three movies and two shows per year going forward. Deadpool & Wolverine is the only MCU movie for 2024.
Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelance reporter. He'll talk about The Witcher all day.
