Jeph Loeb Named Marvel's Exec VP of Television

[doctorD]

Well this news could turn out to be good especially for Marvel TV animation. He didn't do so hot on Heroes, but I'm at least encouraged by the news.

Marvel Entertainment, LLC announced today that it has appointed Jeph Loeb as Executive Vice President, Head of Television, a newly created division of Marvel Entertainment. In this new role, Mr. Loeb will work alongside Dan Buckley, Publisher & President of the Print, Animation & Digital Divisions, Marvel Worldwide, Inc., to translate Marvel’s popular characters and stories to the television medium, in both live-action and animation formats. In addition to these responsibilities, Mr. Loeb will oversee the development and distribution of live-action, animated and direct-to-DVD series. Mr. Loeb was previously a Marvel-exclusive Eisner-Award-winning comic book writer and an Emmy-nominated writer for his work on NBC’s "Heroes." The announcement was made today by Alan Fine, Executive Vice President, Office of the President and Chairman of Marvel Studios’ Creative Committee, and by Mr. Buckley, to whom Mr. Loeb will report.

Mr. Fine stated, “It’s with tremendous pride that I announce the creation of our Marvel Television division and the appointment of Jeph Loeb as Executive Vice President. His work in the comic book field is in a class of its own, showing his passion and talent for bringing Marvel’s finest characters to life in an innovative manner. Jeph’s work on multiple award-winning television series and popular films has shown fans worldwide his ability to deliver thrilling entertainment in a number of media. With Jeph as our EVP, fans will experience the highest quality and most exciting television projects featuring their favorite Marvel characters.”

“I couldn’t be happier to accept this new position at Marvel Entertainment, working with both Dan and Alan to deliver exciting, cutting edge television projects,” said Mr. Loeb. “Marvel continues to break new ground in storytelling in both their comic book and film ventures, so, along with everyone here, I’m excited to bring the same brand of excitement into homes across the globe.”

Mr. Loeb has written acclaimed stories featuring every major super hero in comics, including Iron Man, Captain America, Hulk, Daredevil, Spider-Man, the X-Men and more. Multiple-time winner of the prestigious Eisner Award for his writing, Mr. Loeb quickly established himself as one of the most sought after writers in the comic industry. Mr. Loeb also served as writer/producer on television series "Smallville" and "Lost"; writer/co-executive producer on "Heroes"; and writer of hit films Commando and Teen Wolf

Marvel.com

[doctorD]

Here is some new info from Jeph on some of the plans for TV:

On how the idea of 'Marvel TV' came about and how he got hired:

"After the Disney buyout it became apparent that Disney was very interested in bringing Marvel into television. There was already an ongoing relationship within the world of animation and because Disney has so many networks — ABC, ABC Family, Disney Channel, XD, ESPN — there were a number of opportunities that suddenly became available to Marvel to get into that medium."

"At the same time, Dan Buckley had to been talking to me about television in general, because of my past experience working on shows like Buffy Animated, Smallville, Lost and Heroes. It really became a matter of timing. Marvel has done such an amazing job in the feature division with its movies, that when it came time to explore television, they wanted to do it carefully and selectively. They offered me this amazing opportunity with this new division to work with the Disney networks to bring the Marvel catalog to the television screen."

On what exactly his job entails:

"I've been on the job for about 24 hours! However, we will work very closely with the people at ABC and ABC Family for selecting the properties that we want to develop, then bringing in the right people in order to expand on those stories and to make the best shows that we can. I should also point out this is a brand-new adventure, and I can't yet talk about some of the decisions that have been made in terms of the properties that are being developed and the people that we'll talking to."

On what they're working on:

"There are some projects in animation that we're not ready to talk about, but we're going to be developing and expanding into that arena. Our hope is to bring Marvel Animation up to the quality and notoriety of the publishing and movie division. We're now part of the legacy of Disney, where animation is king, and it's our responsibility to up our game and create something that sets Marvel Animation apart from everything else that's out there. At least that's our challenge and our hope."

"And then there's a brand new division that we'll do with live action, where we're working in partnership with ABC and ABC Family to find the right properties, the right characters and develop them. To start, we will be exploring the one-hour drama field similar to the shows that I mentioned that I've worked on, like Smallvillle and Lost."

On his and Marvel's involvement with the planned TV shows:

"We're responsible for everything that gets produced. You work on an individual television show, you're responsible for that particular television show. So while I probably will not be as involved day-to-day as I would when I was on a regular series, I think that we'll be involved in the creative direction of the show and be as supportive as we can to the creative showrunner of that particular project. Our hope is that given the size of our catalog and the appetite that's out there we will be lucky to have more than one show out there at any given time. I think that's what my grandfather used to refer to as, a good problem."

"Everything will be looked at as a case-by-case basis. Looking across the street, DC has had some success, a smash-hit with Smallville and they're now building on the Human Target. If you look at it from a publishing point of view, the two things couldn't be more different, both in terms of genre and in terms of feel, than the Superman franchise and the Human Target character. So the real key for us is to find the right property for the right network with the right studio, and make sure we've got the right creator-showrunner in order to bring that vision to the screen. We are planning on doing this very cautiously, very carefully and very selectively — it's worked very well for the feature department, and that's the model that we'll be looking at."

On what characters he'd like to see on the small screen:

"You're not going to get me to go down that road right now! It's a great question. But I am curious about what the fans out there would like to see. Already the things that I've read and the discussions we've had internally, people, Marvel fans do have particular shows that they have in mind and our idea is try to reach out and make that stuff happen."

Source

[WyldeMan45]

The man who many have called responsible for running Heroes into the ground handling this and making it a success? That's about as encouraging and likely as Monica Lewinski remembering to take her dress to the dry cleaner.

[doctorD]

Originally Posted by WyldeMan45

The man who many have called responsible for running Heroes into the ground handling this and making it a success? That's about as encouraging and likely as Monica Lewinski remembering to take her dress to the dry cleaner.

Well, I did mention Heroes but what I'm encouraged about is the fact that it sounds like there may be more Marvel tv shows coming. I will wait to see what they do and how they turn out before passing judgement!