‘Inhumans’ TCA Panel Cut Short After Tensions Between Creators and Press

Marvel is having a rough go of it with their upcoming Imax/ ABC series Inhumans. While some could argue that the problems started when Marvel thought they could shoehorn the Inhumans into the role of the X-Men into the MCU, the real problems began when the first trailer for the series was released to nearly universally negative reviews. So, it’s not really all that surprising that the panel at last weekend’s TCA was cut short when critics pressed with some hard questions and the show’s producers pushed back with some hard answers. This may have been spurred on even further by director Roel Reine’s comment to Metro about the trailer:

“I was mixed about the first trailer as well. I felt like it didn’t give you the scope, it didn’t give you a lot of secrets or visual effects. I felt it was a little bit too early because the visual effects were not ready – Medusa’s hair was not ready. So I was really nervous about it and would think the fans would not really like it. When I watched the first trailer I was like ‘ooosh’. But me as a filmmaker, as a director, you’re not involved with the marketing part of these things. The trailer was made by other people, so I was really nervous about it when I saw it. So I was like, “oh guys maybe we should hold off,” but it was too late because it was already in the open.”

During the TCA Panel itself, the audience did not hold back. One person asked Black Bolt actor Anson Mount about the negative press the show has received and his answer drew inspiration from another less than beloved property, Batman v Superman, as he told the reporter:

“You’re making me feel like Ben Affleck right now.”

Meanwhile, it was Jeph Loeb who seemed to take the brunt of the negativity in the room.

When asked if Inhumans had turned out as good as he had hoped, he said:

“I can tell you that it was written on the material that you were given that the show that you have seen is not the finished product. If you’re asking me whether or not it was done, it’s not. So to be perfectly honest, I don’t understand your question.”

And, when a reporter started asking a question by suggesting the pilot that was screened for them didn’t seem like a great fit for an IMAX viewing, he had this to say:

“I think you’re making an editorial statement, and I’m wondering what the question is.” Is Loeb worrying because a potentially high-profile flop like Inhumans is going to cost him his job? It certainly sounds that way but we’ll have to wait and see.

In the end, Loeb asked fans to be patient, because the pilot is still in progress and what we’ve seen in trailers, and critics have screened is not the final product. With that said, Inhumans premiers September 1, 2017.