For many, “WandaVision“as the first MCU series, but before that the comic giant had already launched several other TV productions, which weren’t as closely tied to the films as they are now, but are still clearly part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. “Marvel’s Agents Of SHIELD” (not yet on Disney+ at the time, but on the TV channel ABC) had seven seasons quite a long lifespan – and so successful that Marvel soon planned a spin-off.
“Marvel’s Most Wanted” would focus on Barbara “Bobbi” Morse (Adrianne Palicki) and Lance Hunter (Nick Blood), who have since become fan favorites. In episode 13 of season 3, they said goodbye to the original series to start their own show from now on. After some delay, a pilot was finally put into use, and the pre-released premise was as follows:
“Two former spies and ex-partners on the run, with no friends, no SHIELD and a long list of enemies with a bounty on their heads.”
Along the way, they must form an alliance of convenience with the adventurer Dominic Fortune (played by Delroy Lindo, who will also star in the ‘Blade’ reboot scheduled for 2025), who in turn gathers an entire armada of opponents behind him. And as they fight together for their survival, they also encounter a huge conspiracy.
At the time, several media outlets unanimously reported that “Marvel’s Most Wanted” would most likely begin in the 2016/2017 TV season. But then everything turned out differently: the broadcaster lost confidence in the planned MCU projects, which led, among other things, to the cancellation of the series ‘Agent Carter’ because the ratings of the second season had noticeably dropped.
The original plan to launch four (!) new Marvel series (“Damage Control” was worked on simultaneously – a project planned as a sitcom) quickly disappeared into thin air. In May 2016, it was announced that “Marvel’s Most Wanted” would be canceled before the pilot episode even flickered across the screen. Channing Dungey, then president of ABC Entertainment, made the comments in a statement as follows:
“We felt just like them [die Serie] wasn’t as good as other pilots we’ve done. We talked to Marvel about it and came to an agreement that we wanted to figure out together what our next series could be and that we all had to feel that it was very strong creatively.”
Will we ever see Marvel’s Most Wanted?
Not least in view of this statement, it is difficult to understand in retrospect why the decision ultimately fell on ‘Inhumans’, which became a huge flop and was immediately canceled after only eight episodes. In an interview with Adrianne Palicki also commented on the issue: “I saw the pilot and it was really good. He was a little darker and tougher.” said the 40-year-old, who played “Wonder Woman” for Marvel rival DC in 2011, which also never aired.
The actress has spoken out several times in favor of the premiere of “Marvel’s Most Wanted,” but ABC continues to oppose it to this day. And so it’s unlikely we’ll ever see the pilot.