Jeph Loeb Comments On The Difficulty Of Crossing Over Marvel’s Film & Television Properties

While Marvel had done a good job of creating a universe that works on both the big and small screen, a constant complain amongst fans is that we’ve yet to see one of their television characters appear in their films. While speaking at a panel for the upcoming Luke Cage series at the Televisions Critics Association, Head of Marvel Television Jeph Loeb commented on why it’s been difficult for them to pull this one off at the current time.

Some might believe that this has to do with rumored tension between Ike Perlmutter & Kevin Feige, but Loeb states that it really comes down to how the storylines for films are planned out way ahead of those of their television properties. A good example of this being how Inhumans weren’t referenced in Captain America: Civil War due to that film’s script being written ahead of Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D. being renewed for a second season.

“I can tell you that part of the challenge of doing this sort of thing is that the movies are planned out years in advance of what it is that we are doing. Television moves at an incredible speed. The other part of the problem is that when you stop and think about it, if I’m shooting a television series and that’s going to go on over a six-month or eight-month period, how am I going to get Mike [Colter] to be able to go be in a movie? I need Mike to be in a television show.”

While we’ve yet to see any of the small screen character make the jump, Loeb isn’t ruling out the possibility of it happening down the line. He further commented on the bigger connections of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

“Anything is possible. As I often get reported by you folks for saying #ItsAllConnected, our feeling is that the connection isn’t just whether or not somebody is walking into a movie or walking out of a television show. It’s connected in the way that the shows come from the same place, that they are real, that they are grounded.”

Loeb further elaborated on the matter and how a crossover shouldn’t occur solely for the sake of being a crossover. If a character makes the jump the films, it should make sense as far as the story is concerned.

“We have seen some characters that have appeared and crossed over. Most notably, one of our cast members that isn’t here because she’s working is Rosario Dawson, who continues the character of Claire Temple. So the short answer is we are already doing it. The long answer is as things go by, as the story dictates it, we’ve always been big fans of providing Easter eggs for our fans, but we never want to be known as an Easter egg farm. It has to work within the story. We never want to do Luke Cage gets into a cab as Foggy Nelson and Matt Murdock are getting out of the cab. For those of you that are old enough to know this reference, it’s not when The Man from U.N.C.L.E. was on Please Don’t Eat the Daisies. You actually get to see our characters interact with each other.”

While I’m sure I’m in the minority here, I fully agree with Loeb’s comments above. The Marvel Cinematic Universe is large and ever expanding and these characters don’t need to meet one another to validate their being a part of this universe. Much like the comics, there are plenty of characters who exist alongside one another but never meet. As long as Marvel keeps the great stories coming on both mediums, I’m fine with their approach to things. What about you? Let us know your thoughts in the comments in the section below.

Source: Slash Film

Shawn Madden

Shawn Madden

I write stuff. Sometimes.