'Marvels': New Fictional Podcast Series Expands The Podcast Universe
Marvel is getting serious about the podcast business. After testing the water with their iHeartRadio Award-winning Wolverine: The Long Night and its following second season The Lost Trail, Marvel is teaming up with Stitcher to expand its Marvel Podcast Universe even further. Marvel and Stitcher are launching a new fictional scripted podcast Marvels, adapting Kurt Busiek and Alex Ross' four-part 1994 comic book. The series will launch this fall, on the year of the award-winning comic book's 25th anniversary.
Marvel and Stitcher announced that it is launching a 10-episode Marvels podcast series available exclusively on Stitcher Premium until 2020, when it will see a wide release across all podcast platforms.
"Building off our award-winning momentum of Marvel's Wolverine: The Long Night and its sequel Marvel's Wolverine: The Lost Trail, the New Media team is thrilled to continue to push the envelope of Super Hero storytelling via the scripted podcast medium" said Shane Rahmani, SVP and GM, Marvel New Media.
The release marks the 25th anniversary of Busiek and Ross' original run, which follows the story of photojournalist, Phil Sheldon, as he navigates the aftermath of the Galactus invasion of New York City. Here is the synopsis of the forthcoming podcast series:
"Marvels" takes place in the aftermath of the Fantastic Four's battle with Galactus, high above New York City, for the fate of the world. One intrepid photographer, an ambitious college student, and a cynical journalist embark on an investigation to confirm or debunk one of the most super-powered conspiracy theories of all time.
Written by Lauren Shippen (The Bright Sessions) and directed by Paul Bae (The Black Tapes), with Mischa STanton (LeVar Burton Reads) overseeing sound design, Marvels stars Clifford "Method Man" Smith (Wu-Tang Clan, HBO's The Deuce) as Ben Urich, AnnaSophia Robb (Hulu's The Act) as Marcia Hardesty, Ethan Peck (In Time) as Mr. Fantastic and Seth Barrish (Showtime's Billions) as Phil Sheldon. Also cast are Louisa Krause as Sue Storm, Jake Hart as Ben Grimm, Ehad Berisha as Johnny Storm, Teo Rapp-Olsson as Peter Parker, andGabriela Ortega as Charlie Martinez.
The series is the next step in Marvel building its rumored "Marvel Podcast Universe," assuring Marvel's dominance in every medium, from comics, movies, TV, and now, audio. While the previous Wolverine series were original works of fiction, Marvels will be adapting a famous comic book run. It would be interesting to see which stories Marvel adapt for podcasts — perhaps we'll see them test out Fox properties in audio before moving to the movies. If Marvels goes well, perhaps we'll see more comic adaptations in the future, or a mix of both.