Draft:Inhumans (film)

Inhumans was a planned American superhero film based on the Marvel Comics race of the same name. Produced by Marvel Studios and distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures, it was intended to be part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU).

Development of an Inhumans film began in March 2011, with Joe Robert Cole set as the writer by August 2014. The film was officially announced that October, before Cole left and its release was delayed to accommodate Marvel's other projects, but the film was not canceled. Marvel Television announced a separate Inhumans series for the MCU in November 2016 that lasted for one season.

Development
A film based on the Inhumans was first mentioned as being in development in a March 2011 trade report. It described the project as being similar to X-Men (2000), with the plot revolving around the Inhumans being sent to Earth as sleeper cells to bring their race to conquer the planet. In September 2011, Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige mentioned that, should the film be made, it would feature an ensemble cast similar to the X-Men films and Marvel Studios' The Avengers (2012). In April 2012, he stated that he was confident an Inhumans film would be made. Marvel was ready to move forward with the film by August 2014, with a screenplay written by Joe Robert Cole which he worked on as part of the studios' writers program. The film was officially announced that October as part of Phase Three of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), with a release date of November 2, 2018. Feige noted Marvel Studios' belief in making the Inhumans a franchise or a film series "unto themselves", explaining that they "have dozens of powers and an amazing social structure" and the studio wanted the film to "continue to refine what that universe is about". That December, the Inhuman race was introduced to the MCU in the second season of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., with the revelation that principal character Daisy "Skye" Johnson (portrayed by Chloe Bennet) is an Inhuman. By October 2015, Cole was no longer involved with the film, and he later stated, "Everyone thinks that I'm writing or have written Inhumans. There is not an Inhumans script yet".

In January 2016, Clark Gregg, who portrays Phil Coulson in the MCU, said he was hopeful that the portrayal of the Inhumans in Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. could be referenced in the film, and that it would be "too bad if that was wasted". However, he suspected the film would "be its own cinematic version", saying the film's "writer and director will have free rein to do what they want to do with the Inhumans". The following month, Marvel pushed the release date to July 12, 2019. In April 2016, Feige said he expected the film's release to be delayed once again, given the addition of Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017) and Ant-Man and the Wasp (2018) to the Phase Three slate of films, and Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures scheduling the fifth Indiana Jones film near the July 2019 date. Shortly after Feige's comments, the film was officially taken off of Marvel's release schedule, though it was not outright canceled. After the removal, Feige confirmed that the film would no longer be part of Phase Three, saying "we just didn't want to cram it in to an already quite full Phase Three" that had already expanded "in a very good way" since the October 2014 announcement. In July 2016, Feige said Inhumans would "certainly" be a part of the discussion regarding the film ideas the studio had for releases in 2020 and 2021, adding the following November, "I think Inhumans will happen for sure. I don't know when. I think it's happening on television. And I think as we get into Phase Four as I've always said, it could happen as a movie".

Marvel Television announced in November 2016 that it was making a new series, Marvel's Inhumans, which was not intended to be a reworking of the film. The first two episodes debuted in IMAX in September 2017, to disappointing box office returns. Its run on ABC received low ratings and negative reviews, and in May 2018 the network canceled the series after one season. After working with Marvel Studios on the script for Ant-Man (2015), Adam McKay stated in December 2018 that he was willing to work with the studio again and had discussed making an Inhumans film with Feige. By October 2019, there were rumors that a rebooted version of the Inhumans was being planned for Disney+, potentially starring Vin Diesel who had previously campaigned to portray Black Bolt. Anson Mount, who starred as Black Bolt in the ABC series, expressed support for this idea, hoping the property would get "another shot" with "the right home, the right tone, and the right vision overall". Mount reprised his role in the Marvel Studios film Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, which was released in May 2022. This was a different version of Black Bolt from Earth-838, an alternate universe to the main MCU, who is a member of the Illuminati. His costume in the film is closer to the comic books' design than the series' version.

Release
Inhumans does not have a release date. It was originally scheduled to be released on November 2, 2018, before moving in February 2015 to July 12, 2019, to accommodate Spider-Man: Homecoming. It was then taken off of Disney and Marvel's release schedule in April 2016.