The narrative overlap between Marvel’s flagship ABC series, Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D., and its Netflix shows has been essentially nonexistant, arguably because the entire MCU thought S.H.I.E.L.D. had disbanded long before the first season of Daredevil. (Hence, no one walking up to Luke Cage and asking why the hell the agency wasn’t coming after him.) But behind the scenes is shaping up to be a different story: According to The Hollywood Reporter, Marvel has tapped its Iron Fist showrunner, Scott Buck, to do the same thing for its upcoming ABC series The Inhumans. Which will either turn out to be a great move when Iron Fist premieres and receives the same general acclaim and popularity as the previous three Netflix superhero shows (especially Jessica Jones), or a mistake of Zack Snyder-esque proportions if it’s released and receives the critical equivalent of a desultory fart.
The Inhumans, which tells the story of a race of superhumans led by Black Bolt and his royal family, is set to premiere with a massive two-episode IMAX release in the fall, as a means of trying to stand out from the latest televised round of criminal investigators fighting terrorists on boats, or whatever. Iron Fist doesn’t premiere until March 17, but the small warning bell you hear stems from the series being Buck’s first gig since Dexter, where he was the showrunner for the increasingly shoddy final three seasons. If Iron Fist doesn’t end his first season sitting in a lumberjack cabin in the middle of nowhere, we’ll be off to a better start.