A New Marvel Spinoff Series Is In The Works, So Get Your Tights Ready

The year 2019 will see an enormous shift in the entertainment landscape as two significant events occur. The first will be the marriage of the Disney-FOX partnership, as two of entertainment's largest companies become one. The second is the launch of what TV reporters are referring to as "DisneyFlix," a streaming service which will be wall-to-wall Disney-owned titles, including their animated and live-action movies, Pixar, the Muppets, Lucasfilm, and Marvel. The latter two companies are creating exclusive TV series for the service, including a Falcon and Winter Soldier Marvel TV show, which was just announced this week.

Both characters are sidekicks to Captain America, currently played by Chris Evans in the Marvel films, who is expected to retire from the role next year. According to Variety, the show will be spearheaded by Malcolm Spellman, known primarily for his work on Empire for FOX.

Marvel heroes Falcon and Winter Soldier are teaming up for a potential limited series at the Disney streaming service. Variety has learned exclusively that Malcolm Spellman has been tapped to write a series featuring the two superheroes, which is currently in development at the streamer. It is the first of the proposed Marvel limited series to find a writer.

The As-Yet-Untitled Falcon/Winter Soldier series is part of a reported initiative DisneyFlix is undertaking to bring the Marvel films to the small screen. Alongside this series, there are rumors of one starring Loki and another featuring Scarlet Witch.

All of these series will be very different from the current Marvel TV lineup, produced by the same arm of the Marvel Cinematic Universe behind the big screen movies, and star the same actors who spearhead the films.

This is a departure from the shows on ABC, Freeform, Hulu, and Netflix, which are all produced by the TV arm of the MCU, run by Jeph Loeb. Though Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. carried over Clark Gregg from the films, by the second season, the show had diverged entirely from the movies. The other series, including Netflix's Marvelverse shows like Daredevil and Jessica Jones as well as Hulu's Runaways and Freeform's Cloak & Dagger, have never had any crossover contact with the big screen films.

Fans may start to wonder if the plan is to eventually bring all the Marvel TV series to DisneyFlix and under the watchful eye of MCU CEO Kevin Feige. In the last few weeks, Netflix has canceled both Iron Fist and Luke Cage, and Jessica Jones will lose her showrunner after the third season airs next year. Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., meanwhile, has been pushed out of the regularly-scheduled 2018-2019 TV season and will premiere a truncated Season 6 sometime in the summer of 2019, a season which is expected to be the show's last.

The As-Yet-Untitled Falcon/Winter Soldier show joins Lucasfilm's The Mandalorian as the second confirmed TV series to be joining the DisneyFlix lineup. DisneyFlix also is working on the Tessa Thompson lead live-action Lady & The Tramp film for release on the streaming service.

DisneyFlix is expected to launch in late 2019.