Marvel Studios has always taken pride in being one of the most efficient, well-oiled machines in the entertainment business. Under the banner of Disney, and with billions of dollars of box office revenue to their name, their film division has seen success after success born from their intense dedication to one of modern film's most ambitious franchises. They've paved the path every studio is desperate to follow, scrambling to construct their own expanded universes in the hopes of replicating a fraction of that commercial success.

Yet even Marvel has struggled with this route, as its television division has never quite gelled with its bigger, more well-financed movie sibling. Relations between Kevin Feige and former Marvel Entertainment CEO Ike Perlmutter have always been notoriously frosty, with Feige reportedly threatening to quit Marvel altogether if the infamously frugal Perlmutter didn't stop meddling. For now, Feige heads the film division while Jeph Loeb leads TV operations, which may be the biggest roadblock for prospects of a crossover between the film and TV worlds of Marvel.

Marvel Television's results have been mixed - the deal with Netflix for the Defenders universe has seen great numbers (even if Iron Fist wasn't a critical darling), but holds together better than Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., which was unable to hold onto its early buzz and viewership numbers, despite a steady improvement in quality over each of its seasons. Agent Carter also had a mostly popular reception, but couldn't sustain multiple seasons with poor ratings. ABC, also under the Disney banner, is keen to get some of that movie buzz, and the means for doing so has raised a few eyebrows.

Marvel Inhumans main cast

Inhumans, the latest Marvel series to air on ABC, has been a topic of confusion amongst fans and critics since its announcement. Originally announced by Marvel Studios as a film for phase three of their slate, the idea was dropped and moved to television, which made sense since Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. had already introduced the Inhumans into their canon. Unlike Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., Inhumans would be pushed heavily as a cinematic experience. It was announced that the show would be filmed partly using IMAX cameras and that the first two episodes, labeled œThe First Chapter, would debut on IMAX screens, making it the first live-action television show to even debut in this format. The theatrical run is set to remain in cinemas for the following two weeks before the official televised premiere arrives on ABC on September 29th.

It was always an idea of lofty ambitions, but is it one that can pay off? It's been a dreadful Summer at the box office, with last week's North American numbers slumping to their lowest numbers since the weekend after 9/11. IMAX screenings haven't held up great under these circumstances, with Christopher Nolan's Dunkirk surviving as the only true draw for audiences who have struggled to accept the higher ticket prices and lack of real urgency to track down their nearest IMAX. When actual movies haven't been enough to entice people to part with $20 or more for an IMAX screening, why would they do so for two episodes of an ABC show they can wait a fortnight to see for free in the comfort of their own homes?

Inhumans isn't intended to be just another TV show - this is meant to be a real event, the kind of must-see spectacle that forces increasingly distracted audiences to pay attention amid the crowded landscape of Peak TV. In theory, it creates the ultimate hook for a new show, something that Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. could have used and possibly benefitted from. On top of that, it also gives Marvel TV a more cinematic edge, allowing it to rise to the level of its movie based partners.

Agents of SHIELD

TV has become more cinematic over the past decade, with the rise of big-budget genre epics like Game of Thrones and the increase of film directors and auteurs making the jump to the medium, from Jane Campion's Top of the Lake to David Lynch's return to Twin Peaks. Television has its own set of rules and can allow for more expanded, serialized storytelling, but now it looks more like a movie. Imagine American Gods if it were made in 2002, or even Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. in the vein of the syndicated actions series of the mid 1990s, and the effect is entirely different. As it is, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. is a sturdy series that's weathered some disappointing arcs, but it's hard for it to compete with the likes of The Avengers or Spider-Man: Homecoming, all of which look epic and have higher stakes. Inhumans investing in some IMAX cameras is certainly a step up but fans remain skeptical of the results as early teasers and trailers exhibited some questionable effects work. It's hard enough to hook audiences with unfamiliar characters and worlds, but doing so with the worst sentient hair CGI in the business is a steep hill to climb.

Marvel is consistently setting the bar higher for what franchises can and should do, so it's only right that they do so with their own television shows. The Netflix series has tried, and Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. offered an obvious gateway to the movie worlds through the character of Agent Coulson, but the two sides still feel planets apart. When the Defenders get together to punch at the enemies of New York, you can't help but wonder why Spider-Man can't just swing over and sort it out. The Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. face apparent world-shattering dangers every week, but none of this seems to be on the radar of Tony Stark and company?

It is hoped that this will bridge the gap for Marvel's film and TV worlds, not just in continuity and characters but in style. It's a two tier system of heroism and one that Marvel can't fully bridge without real relations between its film and TV worlds. That's not just a question of good business partnerships; it's also one of money. It costs a lot of dollars to make realistic superhero worlds, but even ABC won't foot the bill week after week for a network series to equal The Avengers. TV shows have tighter schedules to adhere to and they draw in a different kind of talent. The director for this epic Inhumans premiere is Roel Reiné, whose films credits include The Scorpion King 3: Battle for Redemption and The Man with the Iron Fists 2. In a surprisingly candid interview with CNET, Reiné was open about why he believed he was hired:

"I think they liked me for the job because I was able with my action movies to shoot in a very short time, or with very low budgets, action that looks like a big-budget movie. It was not a feature film, it was a TV episode, but they still wanted to have the scope."

Reiné also discussed the tight schedule of shooting 20 days for two episodes and potentially œmaddening or exhilarating nature of working under such tightly controlled circumstances as demanded by the Marvel brain trust. This is typical when you're making TV, but when you want to make TV that competes with the film world, you need to bring out your big guns, and it doesn't seem like Marvel or ABC are especially keen on making the investments necessary to do so.

It won't be possible for Marvel's film and TV divisions to fully meet and explore the exciting possibilities until the labyrinthine feuds of upper management get detangled, but on the ground from a creative point of view, there are many other problems standing in the way. Marvel's TV department need time, money, scope and network support to pull off something that can truly stand on its own two feet alongside its cinematic cohorts. Poor reviews for Inhumans suggest it doesn't have what it takes to compete with that, nor are audiences especially enthusiastic towards the product at hand. Inhumans, and indeed Marvel TV as a whole, needs to be more than just a manufactured œevent: It needs to be good TV.

NEXT: INHUMANS CAST RESPONDS TO MIXED REACTIONS