The relationship between Disney and Netflix may be diminishing, but that's not stopping the owner of Marvel Studios from partnering with other platforms to bring famous and infamous superheroes to the small screen. On Monday, Hulu announced that Disney has greenlighted a slate of four animated series featuring Marvel superheroes for the Hulu platform. Adult animated shows based on MODOK, Hit-Monkey, Tigra and Dazzler, and Howard the Duck have been ordered and will culminate in a special called "The Offenders" in which the characters team up. It follows a structure similar to the series Disney contracted with Netflix five years ago in which Marvel characters Daredevil, Jessica Jones, Luke Cage and Iron Fist were given individual shows and then came together for a miniseries called "The Defenders." Hulu already streams "Marvel's Runaways," a live-action television show about six teenagers, some with superpowers, some without, who discover that their parents are criminals and must band together to stop them. The Hulu deal comes as several of Marvel's series on Netflix have been unexpectedly canceled. "Daredevil," "Luke Cage" and "Iron Fist" have all ended their runs. It is unclear whether "Jessica Jones" and "The Punisher" will see the same fate. Disney is set to own 60 percent of Hulu once its merger deal with Fox closes this year. Marvel is expected to be a major component of Disney's upcoming streaming service, Disney+. The company has already approved several TV series spinoffs featuring Loki, Falcon and Bucky Barnes, and Vision and Scarlet Witch. Marvel also has television shows on ABC ("Agents of Shield"), FX ("Legion"), Fox ("The Gifted") and FreeForm ("Cloak and Dagger"). WATCH: How Pixar's 'RenderMan' software revolutionized computer graphics<doc-sep>The age of the Defenders is passing away; let the age of the Offenders begin! Following the recent cancellations of Iron Fist, Luke Cage, and Daredevil, it seems like the storied Netflix/Marvel partnership is fading out. But that doesn’t mean there aren’t going to be new Marvel TV adaptations to look forward to on streaming services. On Monday, Hulu announced a new partnership with Marvel Television that would produce four new animated shows based on obscure-but-beloved comic characters: M.O.D.O.K., Hit-Monkey, Tigra & Dazzler, and Howard the Duck. These four original shows will then culminate in the team-up special Marvel’s The Offenders. Marvel’s M.O.D.O.K. centers around the funniest-looking villain in the entire superhero canon. Though his name stands for Mechanized Organism Designed Only for Killing, the primary fact about M.O.D.O.K is that he has a really big head and a really small body. This new show will focus on M.O.D.O.K.’s struggle to maintain control of his evil organization and his demanding family. Marvel’s Hit-Monkey explores the story of a wronged Japanese snow monkey who is mentored by the ghost of an American assassin and uses his skills to cut a wide swath of revenge through the Tokyo underworld. Think of it like John Wick but as a monkey, and also there’s a ghost. Marvel’s Tigra & Dazzler Show focuses on the two title characters, who are “woke superheroes” (one of whom is a cat person, while the other is a light-powered pop singer) as they try to break big in Los Angeles. Finally, Marvel’s Howard The Duck focuses on the travails of the talking duck character first created by Steve Gerber as a play on a classic “funny animal” character trapped in a world he never made. The character became such a counter-cultural icon in the ’70s that he received write-in votes for President in the 1976 campaign. His appearance in the end-credits scene of Guardians of the Galaxy teased a future in the MCU, but for now Howard will star in this animated show. With the hope of his “Gal pal” Beverly, Howard hopes to return home before he can be cooked by the evil Dr. Bong. Later, Howard will team up with MODOK, Dazzler, Tigra, and Hit-Monkey to “save the world and certain parts of the universe.” Expect these shows to have a lot of humor, because some big comedy names are attached. Patton Oswalt is writing and producing M.O.D.O.K. alongside Jordan Blum and Marvel Television chief Jeph Loeb, while Chelsea Handler is an executive producer and writer on Tigra & Dazzler alongside Loeb and Erica Rivinoja. Kevin Smith and Dave Willis are writer and producers on Howard the Duck, with Loeb. Marvel pioneered the concept of the inter-connected fictional universe that has come to dominate pop culture in recent years, but these line-ups suggest they’re amenable to parodying the ideas involved. Hulu did not announce a release window for these shows.<doc-sep>Marvel Television and Hulu are partnering for four animated series aimed at adult audiences, reports Variety. The four shows will focus on Marvel characters Howard the Duck, Hit-Monkey, the villain MODOK, and finally, Tigra and Dazzler — and be crafted by folks like Kevin Smith, Patton Oswalt and Chelsea Handler. And, eventually, they’ll all come together for a team-up series called — wait for it — The Offenders. Howard the Duck is one of Marvel’s handful of satirical, infamous in the comics industry for a rights dispute and how incongruous he is to the rest of the Marvel setting, and outside the industry for a disastrous 1986 film adaptation. The putative Hulu series will be written and executive produced by Smith and Dave Willis (Aqua Teen Hunger Force), and will reunite Howard with his long-time human flame Beverly and bell-themed super scientist foe, Dr. Bong. MODOK, from Jordan Blum (American Dad!) and Oswalt, will follow the Marvel supervillain with the very large head, whose name stands for “Mental Organism Designed Only for Killing.” MODOK apparently has to balance his work life — managing his mad science arms dealing organization, Advanced Idea Mechanics — and his “demanding family.” Hit-Monkey is based on the most obscure character of the Hulu bunch. The eponymous simian, created by Daniel Way and Dalibor Talajić, has appeared in a handful of Marvel comics beginning in the early 2010s. He is a Japanese macaque, or snow monkey, whose troop was murdered by Yakuza enforcers for harboring an injured assassin. Using the skills he learned by watching the nameless assassin, Hit-Monkey has sworn vengeance on all assassins, for bringing violence to his home. In other words, yes, he’s a Deadpool supporting character. Hit-Monkey will be written an executive produced by the creative team of Josh Gordon and Will Speck (Blades of Glory, Office Christmas Party). Of the final Hulu series in this partnership, Tigra & Dazzler, we can only assume that it will follow the Marvel characters of the same name. Tigra’s origin is a big ball of Explanations That Only Fly in Comics, but she is essentially a woman with various jungle-cat-based abilities, as well as physical attributes, like fur, claws, and a tail. Dazzler is an off-again-on-again member of the X-Men, a mutant with the ability to turn sound into a broad spectrum of light, “dazzling” her foes and even creating powerful lasers. In her day job, she’s also a famous pop musician. From Erica Rivinoja (The Last Man on Earth) and Chelsea Handler (Chelsea Lately), Tigra & Dazzler will not be Marvel Television’s first foray into the realm of X-Men characters, one usually associated with 20th Century Fox exclusively. Both Legion and The Gifted are based on X-Men characters, although both were developed in partnership with 20th Television.<doc-sep>
Hulu and Marvel Television have partnered to produce four adult animated series, Variety has learned. The shows will be based on the following Marvel characters: Howard the Duck, M.O.D.O.K, Hit-Monkey, and Tigra and Dazzler. Like the Marvel-Netflix “Defenders” shows before them, the four characters will then team up in the animated special “The Offenders.” Marvel’s head of TV, Jeph Loeb, will executive produce each project. Disney–which owns Marvel–will become a majority shareholder in Hulu once the Fox-Disney merger is completed. “Howard the Duck” will be written and executive produced by Kevin Smith and Dave Willis. Smith is known for his Askewniverse films, including “Clerks,” “Mallrats,” and “Jay & Silent Bob Strike Back.” Smith has also written for Marvel Comics in the past, writing for popular characters like Daredevil and Spider-Man. Willis previously co-created popular animated shows like “Aqua Teen Hunger Force” and “Squidbillies” for Adult Swim in addition to his work as a voice actor. Smith is repped by WME. Willis is repped by CAA and Brillstein Entertainment Partners. In the series, Howard the Duck is trapped in a world he never made, but America’s favorite fighting fowl hopes to return home with the help of his unstoppable gal pal Beverly before the evil Dr. Bong can turn him the crispiest dish on the menu. “M.O.D.O.K.” will be written and executive produced by Jordan Blum and Patton Oswalt. Blum’s previous credits include “Community” and “American Dad.” Oswalt is an Emmy-winning stand up comedian. He currently appears on the NBC series “A.P. Bio,” the Syfy series “Happy!,” Netflix’s “Mystery Science Theater 3000,” and serves as narrator on ABC’s “The Goldbergs.” Blum is repped by UTA and Circle of Confusion. Oswalt is repped by UTA and Generate. “M.O.D.O.K,” or Mental Organism Designed Only for Killing, centers around an egomaniacal supervillain with a really big head and a really little body, who struggles to maintain control of his evil organization and his demanding family. “Hit-Monkey” will be written and executive produced by Josh Gordon and Will Speck, the team that previously co-directed films like “Blades of Glory” and “Office Christmas Party.” They are repped by CAA and Management 360. The show tells the tale of a wronged Japanese snow monkey, mentored by the ghost of an American assassin, as he cuts a wide swath through the Tokyo underworld. “Tigra & Dazzler” hails from writers and executive producers Erica Rivinoja and Chelsea Handler. Rivinoja worked on the story for the film “Girls Trip” and her previous writing credits include shows like “The Last Man on Earth,” “South Park,” and “Grounded for Life.” Handler is known for hosting her own talk shows on both E! and Netflix, “Chelsea Lately” and “Chelsea” respectively. Rivinoja is repped by UTA. Handler is repped by UTA and Azoff MSG Entertainment. News of these new animated series comes as three of the four original live-action Marvel Netflix “Defenders” shows–“Daredevil,” “Luke Cage,” and “Iron Fist”–have all been cancelled within the past few months. The fourth show, “Jessica Jones,” is expected to air its third season in 2019. As Variety exclusively reported, the deal for the original four shows includes a clause that prevents the characters from appearing in any non-Netflix series or film for at least two years after cancellation. A fifth show, “The Punisher” starring Jon Bernthal, debuted its second season in January and a decision regarding its future is still pending. The upcoming streaming service Disney+ is also working on multiple limited series centered on the Marvel Cinematic Universe characters including Loki, Scarlet Witch, and Falcon and the Winter Solider. Marvel TV is repped by CAA.