Hot off his successful Ruffalo-ed reboot in “The Avengers,” Marvel’s Incredible Hulk could get another makeover soon for the small screen.
In a conference call to discuss the network’s new fall schedule, ABC Entertainment Group President Paul Lee said multiple Marvel projects are in active development. (Both ABC and Marvel are under the umbrella of The Walt Disney Company.)
“Of course we’re immensely proud to be in a company with ‘The Avengers,'” Lee said. “The Hulk is in development. It wasn’t going to be ready for this season but we hope will be ready for next season.”
Lee also acknowledged development on an unnamed Marvel project for Fox (most likely “The Punisher”). “We’re going to continue to develop aggressively. We’re very happy to make shows not just for our own network but for other networks too,” Lee said. “Where the shows are more appropriate to our brand they’ll go with us. Where they’re more appropriate to brands like Fox or NBC, CBS, happy to do that too. We would like to see some Marvel projects move to television.”
Although Lee wasn’t willing to reveal titles of any other properties in development, he did provide an unencouraging update on the status of “AKA Jessica Jones.” “Twilight” screenwriter Melissa Rosenberg was attached to a TV series based on Marvel’s female P.I. hero, but Rosenberg has since moved on to a new series on ABC’s midseason schedule: “Red Widow,” starring Radha Mitchell as a mafia widow out to avenge her husband’s death.
“I hope when you see ‘Red Widow’ you’re going to be very excited about that,” Lee said, noting the status of “Jessica Jones” as: “We have other development which probably is further at the front the queue.”
Outside of animation, the history of Marvel properties on television is limited. An “Incredible Hulk” TV series starring Bill Bixby and Lou Ferrigno aired on CBS from 1978-82.