Two Hit Hulu Shows’ Futures Are in Jeopardy

Hulu is mulling the futures of two Marvel shows. Comicbook.com reported that Hulu content boss Craig Erwich said that they had no announcements to make regarding the next seasons of MODOK and Hit-Monkey. Both of these animated series would be going onto their second seasons if they were to be renewed. They were the last projects that were produced by the production studio that was formerly led by Jeph Loeb.

Erwich stated during Hulu’s Winter TCA presentation that there were not going to be any announcements made about either MODOK or Hit-Monkey. He said, “Marvel and team will make the decisions for that franchise, and that brand.” There were once plans for the two shows to cross over with other animated series on the streaming service. All of the shows were meant to be a part of a shared animated universe. 

In January 2020, Deadline reported that plans for two of those aforementioned shows, Howard the Duck and Tigra & Dazzler, were scrapped. These projects, alongside MODOK and Hit-Monkey, were developed by Marvel Television. But, the television division shut down in December 2019. Deadline reported that Tigra & Dazzler encountered issues when it came to searching for a showrunner and a writing team. The original showrunner, Erica Rivinoja, parted ways with the project due to creative differences. The characters in these shows were meant to team up for their own series, The Offenders. Although, plans for that series were also scrapped when two of the shows meant to be in the animated universe did not proceed to series. 

These animated series skewed towards adults, with fans believing that Hulu could provide a home for adult-oriented content. Now, with MODOK and Hit-Monkey‘s fates left up in the air, the only R-rated content that is in the works from Marvel Studios is Deadpool 3. Marvel Studios’ Kevin Feige previously confirmed in early 2021 that the project would be R-rated and said that star Ryan Reynolds was “overseeing a script right now.” He added, “It will not be [filming] this year. Ryan is a very busy, very successful actor. We’ve got a number of things we’ve already announced that we now have to make, but it’s exciting for it to have begun. Again, a very different type of character in the MCU, and Ryan is a force of nature, which is just awesome to see him bring that character to life.”