Empire (UK)

WACKY SUPER-RACES

Eight episodes of cosmic craziness, Inhumans might just be the most out-there Marvel yet…

- WORDS OWEN WILLIAMS

HOT FROM HIS last job — Netflix’s Iron Fist — showrunner Scott Buck is in Hawaii for ABC’S

Marvel’s Inhumans. But with only ten months to put the whole project together, he’s not seen many beaches. Hawaii doesn’t have the filmmaking facilities of Los Angeles but, as Hollywood’s busiest showrunner explains, a little logistical hardship was necessary to bring the spectacle necessary for Inhumans’ IMAX premiere.

Yes, you read that right. The first two episodes will debut on IMAX screens in a near 80-minute opener, before the show hits smaller screens two weeks later. “It gives us a massive, dramatic opening,” Buck tells Empire. “It allows us to think bigger; to use visuals you don’t normally get on your television screen. We wanted [it to be] strikingly beautiful and unusual.”

Unusual is the word. Inhumans, teased during ABC’S flagship show Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D., finally get its standalone showcase in an eight-episode run with the potential to become the most bonkers regal soap opera since The

Windsors. Buck’s team has boiled down 50 years of comic-book history into a story about royals from an ancient, lost race of superhuman­s, now in exile after a military coup. Black Bolt (Anson Mount) has to use sign language, since his voice can cause devastatin­g seismic shock waves, even at a whisper. His brother Maximus (Iwan Rheon) is a treacherou­s super genius. Medusa (Serinda Swan) has indestruct­ible, killer hair. Gorgon (Eme Ikwuakor) can trigger earthquake­s by stamping his hooved feet. And Lockjaw (a CG creation) is a humongous teleportin­g dog.

Beneath its outlandish trappings lies a grounded superhero adaptation that’ll pitch for your heart as well as your eyeballs. “There will be plenty of humour and fantastic elements,” Buck continues, “but we’re dealing with relatable people in a moment of great crisis: a royal family forced into the position of refugees. They just happen to have superpower­s.”

A super-soap opera filmed with the same Alexa 65 cameras as Captain America: Civil War’s airport showdown, boasting an even more dysfunctio­nal Marvel family than Guardians Of The Galaxy, and set in retina popping Pacific locations? Inhumans may be about to make a big splash.

MARVELÕS INHUMANS DEBUTS IN IMAX ON 1 SEPTEMBER. THE ENTIRE SERIES AIRS SOON AFTER

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Inhumans comes from 50 years of comic-book history, with an array of characters who have superhuman powers.
Above: Marvel’s Inhumans comes from 50 years of comic-book history, with an array of characters who have superhuman powers.

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