John Ridley's Marvel Project Up in the Air

CBR

ABC President 'Not Sure' of John Ridley's Involvement in Marvel Project

By Nicole Sobon

Published Aug 9, 2017

According to ABC Studios president Channing Dungey, John Ridley's mysterious Marvel television project is up in the air at this time.

John Ridley's mysterious Marvel television project appears to be up in the air again. Per TrackingBoard, current ABC Studios president Channing Dungey revealed that she is unsure of the status of Ridley's long-gesturing Marvel project at the Television Critic Association press tour earlier this week.

The project was originally announced back in 2015, although details surrounding the project were -- and have continued to be -- sparse. The only detail known at this time is the fact that the project would be a reinvention of "an existing Marvel superhero character or property for ABC." Since then, the project has faced numerous setbacks.

Ridley's project, along with Marvel's Most Wanted and Damage Control, were announced while Paul Lee was still the head of ABC Studios. Although Lee seemed more than eager to introduce more Marvel properties to ABC, Dungey has been more selective, passing over the Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. spinoff Marvel's Most Wanted and cancelling Agent Carter after its second season failed to deliver in the ratings for the network. The only new Marvel property Dungey has greenlit since she took over has been Inhumans, which premieres on the network this fall.

In this case, the stall of Ridley's project appears to be a Marvel issue. When asked if Ridley was still working on the project, Dungey simply responded with, "I’m actually not sure. That’s a question for Marvel."

Ridley has repeatedly stated that he still hopes to bring the project to life, but that Marvel's already packed television schedule may make that a bit difficult. Over the past few years, Marvel taken over Netflix with the addition of Daredevil, Jessica Jones, Luke Cage, Iron Fist, and The Defenders. They've also broaden their programming with the addition of shows such as New Warriors and Cloak and Dagger on Freeform, as well as The Runaways on Hulu.

For now, fans can catch Marvel's latest television venture when Inhumans hits ABC in September following a limited IMAX premiere for the first two episodes.