Hot on the heels of the official announcement that Ultimate Spider-Man has been renewed for a second season by Disney XD comes word from Marvel Animation that two more series are in development: Avengers Assemble and Hulk and the Agents of S.M.A.S.H.
Joe Quesada, chief creative officer of Marvel Entertainment, and Jeph Loeb, Marvel’s executive vice president and head of television, revealed the pertinent details of the projects to TVGuide.com:
Jeph Loeb: There are two huge projects that we’re working on. The first, we know the impact that The Avengers had — and continues to have — this summer, and there’s one particular character who has been the breakout hit of the summer and he’s big and he’s green and he’s our Incredible Hulk. So we started talking about it and we thought what’s more fun than one Hulk? And that would actually be five Hulks! We’re taking characters that already exist in the Marvel Universe — because it’s very important to us that it all begins with [the comic-book] publishing. That cast is Hulk; the Red Hulk; Skaar, who’s the teenage barbarian Hulk, She Hulk — who’s actually been a character in the Marvel Universe for 30 years; and a relatively new character, A-Bomb. He’s more of a Blue Hulk. And together they are Hulk and the Agents of S.M.A.S.H.
What does “S.M.A.S.H.” stand for? According to Jeph Loeb, “Joe had that answer the first day: They’re Hulks, it can stand for anything they want it to.”
And Avengers Assemble?
Jeph Loeb: The Avengers movie has been the ambassador to the world for the Marvel Universe so we want a show that has the feel and the tone and the incredible adventures like that movie. So the next project that we’re working on — and this is down in our lab, top secret, with the S.H.I.E.L.D. agents protecting us at all costs — is Avengers Assemble, which will be a brand new and really extraordinary looking animated series dealing with the Avengers in that same world.
Avengers Assemble will be showcasing African-American superhero Falcon as “the eyes of the viewer”:
Joe Quesada: He’s a new member of the Avengers so he’s walking through our stories wide-eyed and with wonder and amazed to be a part of it. He’s a little younger than the rest of the cast and a little greener, so he adds an interesting dimension to the team that we think will play really well with the audience.
Although neither Avengers Assemble nor Hulk and the Agents of S.M.A.S.H. have been picked up by a network, it obviously looks good for Disney XD, since Marvel Animation‘s Ultimate Spider-Man is Disney XD‘s highest-rated animated series. Disney XD already has Avengers: Earth’s Mightiest Heroes, but the new series “more closely echoes the tone and the feel of the movie” and “it will certainly have that kind of gigantic action and interacting among the characters and their voices that the movie has.”
Uh oh. Dang it, I was just getting into Earth’s Mightiest Heroes. Still, I loved the movie…
The shows aren’t said to be ready until 2013 anyway, so we’ll just have to wait and see how the schedule falls into place, and what stays, goes, and starts, and where. We’ll keep you posted.
