Is There a Future for Marvel’s Inhumans in the MCU?

The Inhumans would become major players in this superhero show, with multiple members of the team, like Yo-Yo Rodriguez (Natalia Córdova-Buckley), gaining powers in their own rights. It was pretty comic accurate too, with the espionage experts consumed within stone cocoons before they would emerge with their new gifts. The show managed to range from source material favorites like Lash (Blair Underwood), to original antagonists like Johnson’s own mother, Jiaying (Dichen Lachman). 

The issue here is despite the fantastic work that Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. did adapting some of these arcs, the actual status of the ABC show is still up in the air. Whether it remains within MCU Canon is anyone’s guess, as connections between other projects have been few and far between. The show might have featured other characters seen in the movies, but the big screen never returned the favor. This definitely leaves some of the best portrayals of the Inhumans in doubt. 

The Inhumans Project

Kevin Feige once made a bold announcement: Inhumans would be a feature-length installment in Phase 3 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. But it was never to be. As the studio moved further and further away from the edicts of Marvel Entertainment itself and towards a different structure with Disney, the project completely lost its footing. Instead, it would be turned into a limited series from ABC Studios, with the first couple of episodes playing in IMAX. 

It felt like a major event, a potential turning point in how Marvel would distribute their content moving forward. It was arguably even a precursor to how Disney+ would handle their streaming series in the future. But the quality simply wasn’t there. Inhumans flopped hard. A charismatic and excellently chosen cast was not enough to save boring set and costume design, misplaced writing, and characterizations that felt like a far cry from the source material. 

Any hopes for the Inhumans were wiped out at this moment. There were definitely high points in the show, and with some reinvention ABC could have moved forward with the royal family, perhaps folding them into Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. which already had limited connections to its less successful spinoff. But the audience simply wasn’t there for it and with very few backing the development of further projects, this seemed like the end of the Inhumans for good. 

Wiped from Continuity 

The years since have been hard for the Inhumans. The show can actually be identified on Disney+, although it’s pretty hidden away among the other shows that sit in an odd space within continuity. The cancellation of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. was the final nail in the coffin, perhaps a confirmation that the group’s time on screen was over.