With the rebooted Daredevil: Born Again for Disney+ hitting pause in June due to the dual WGA and SAG-AFTRA strike, Marvel Studios finally took a hard look at its television strategy and decided to reassess.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Marvel fired head writers Chris Ord and Matt Corman in September and let go of Daredevil‘s directors after reviewing the first half of the 18-episode season. Kevin Feige and company were unhappy with the procedural, where Charlie Cox reportedly didn’t even appear in costume as Daredevil until Episode 4.
Until now, Marvel has approached its TV shows like movies, eschewing the traditional showrunner model and having film executives run the show. A head writer and often director craft the series, but that’s led to numerous clashes and tonal shifts, according to insiders. Now, the minds behind the MCU are looking to change tack.
“We’re trying to marry the Marvel culture with the traditional television culture,” Brad Winderbaum, Marvel’s head of streaming, television, and animation, said. “It comes down to, ‘How can we tell stories in television that honor what’s so great about the source material?'”
Ord and Corman will stay on as executive producers, and some of the existing material will be kept. But moving forward, Marvel is looking for someone to steer the show in a new direction.
She-Hulk: Attorney at Law helped bring the team to this decision. After Jessica Gao created and wrote the show, director Kat Cairo came in and took over. It was a similar model to other shows, but when COVID-19 disrupted post-production, Gao was brought back in to oversee things. The move effectively treated her as the showrunner, and Marvel execs were happy with the continuity of the process.
“[Showrunner’s] a term we’ve not only grown comfortable with but also learned to embrace,” Winderbaum said of the new plan, which also involves bringing in executives who are versed in the TV world. “We need executives that are dedicated to this medium, that are going to focus on streaming, focus on television, because they are two different forms.”
What’s more, Marvel also wants more multi-season shows. Loki is the first to get two seasons, but Daredevil is meant to run for two as well. Rather than treating the shows as limited series or mini-movies, Marvel wants to follow the traditional TV model and let the characters grow as audiences get to know them. Ideally, the result will be more shows like Loki and fewer misfires like Secret Invasion.
