Inhumans Coming to ABC: First Two Episodes to Debut in IMAX

It looks like the Inhumans project is moving forward after all, but not how you expect! Originally, the Inhumans were supposed to receive their own feature film, but plans were scrapped early last year. There was no confirmation of the Inhumans project being officially terminated or postponed to a later date; it was simply taken off the slated films in Phase 3 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

First Two Episodes of ABC's 'Inhumans' Will Premiere In IMAX Theaters

According to the Hollywood Reporter, the Inhumans feature film has been scrapped for an eight-episode live action series, set to air on ABC. The first two episodes of ABC's Inhumans will premiere in IMAX theaters, in fall of 2017.

ABC's Inhumans will follow a story separate from the Inhumans plot crafted on Marvel's Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D., which also airs on ABC.

Season 2 of Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D. introduced a new generation of Inhumans, but 2017's Inhumans episodic series will introduce a more well-known breed of Inhumans to the Marvel TV universe, starting with Black Bolt and the royal family of Inhuman bloodlines.

A brief description of the show was also provided to the Hollywood Reporter:

ABC's The Inhumans will explore the never-before-told epic adventure of Black Bolt and the royal family.

Now that Inhumans are finally making their appearance, it'll give the legendary Inhuman, Black Bolt, the opportunity he deserves to appear on the big screen (for a limited time), but after his limited IMAX appearance, are Black Bolt and the royal family going to join the Marvel TV universe?

Will a Connection Between Inhumans and Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Be Established?

It's too early to theorize on a crossover with ABC's Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D. but they'll be airing on the same network, so it shouldn't be much of a stretch. And considering that a variety of Inhumans are currently featured on Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D., it's fairly reasonable to assume the two series will intermingle at some point.

ABC's Inhumans is only expected to go through an eight-episode series, which isn't very much screen time to develop an entire story around Black Bolt and the Royal Family, but ABC's first order of eight episodes could either be extended or followed up by the Inhumans moving over to another Marvel TV series like Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D. This transition wouldn't be difficult and would make sense within the grand scheme now in place for the Inhumans.

When we account for the Inhumans series only lasting for eight episodes devoted to Black Bolt and his family, the series will probably introduce the royal family, how they operate, and what lead to their disappearance from civilized society. Within those eight episodes, we can expect for Black Bolt's origins to be fully developed while the royal family is brought in by his side. Black Bolt has a very rich history in Marvel comics so there's likely to be a mass exploration of his past and those who partake in it.

Along with Black Bolt's origins being depicted on-screen, there'll likely be development of more known Inhumans like Medusa, Karnac, Gorgon, and Triton; all great candidates that should be considered for appearances in ABC's The Inhumans.

As members of the Royal Family, Medusa and Karnac are the two likeliest Inhumans to appear alongside Black Bolt. Since Black Bolt is expected to be the central character of The Inhumans, it's fair to assume that his wife Medusa would be joining him. Considering that The Inhumans will focus on Black Bolt's origins, his connection to Medusa is bound to be one of the aspects explored during the eight-episode series. There may not be much time to devote to establishing a relationship between Black Bolt and Medusa so they'll likely be depicted as an established Inhuman couple at the top tier of the Royal Family.

Aside from Medusa, other members of the Royal Family will presumably make appearances as well: Karnak and Maximus. Maximus being the most likely since his comic-book counterpart attempted to usurp the throne of Attilan on one momentous occasion. Attilan is the homeworld to the ancient race of Inhumans and seeing as how Black Bolt is probably the current king of Attilan, Maximus' appearance on The Inhumans could be followed up a ploy to overthrow Black Bolt for the throne of Attilan. Although, usurping the throne won't be all that easy. Most members of the Royal Family are loyal to Black Bolt, so any sign of dissent from someone like Maximus or his followers will be met by swift justice.

What Kind of Future Do the Inhumans Have to Look Forward to?

Regardless of what takes place during the Inhumans series, what takes place after is of more importance. Once Black Bolt's group of Inhumans are introduced in their eight-episode series, their future can branch off into several directions, the most probable being Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D. — but that doesn't eliminate the possibility of Inhumans branching off to other Marvel TV series as well.

Since Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D. already features several Inhumans, it's quite possible for Black Bolt and his Inhuman family to make an appearance on Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D. after The Inhumans series concludes. It would be ideal for the ancient Inhumans to come out off hiding once their origin story is told in The Inhumans. Although, there's a possibility that Black Bolt's origin story in The Inhumans will conclude with Attilan and the Inhumans being completely wiped out. Let's hope it's the latter because the reality is that everyone has been waiting for Inhumans like Black Bolt and Medusa to show up on Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D. and now would be the ideal time for that to happen.