With DC drama Lucifer pencilled in for midseason, Fox has set their sights on a Marvel project for the 2016-2017 season.
The network has teamed with Marvel to develop hour-long drama series Hellfire, which hails from Evan Katz (24: Live Another Day), Manny Coto (24), Patrick McKay (Star Trek 3) and JD Payne (Star Trek 3), TVWise has learned.
Co-Created by Katz, Coto, McKay and Payne, Hellfire is set in the 1960s and follows a young Special Agent who learns that a power-hungry woman with extraordinary abilities is working with a clandestine society of millionaires – known as “The Hellfire Club” – to take over the world.
“We are thrilled to partner with Marvel to bring this world to television and build upon the vibrant mythology that has captivated fans for years,” said David Madden, President of Entertainment for Fox. “These powerful and dynamic characters are complicated and larger-than-life, the pace and visual imagination are unrelenting, and the story takes place during one of the most explosive eras in recent history. We are so looking forward to working with this incredibly talented team.”
Patrick McKay and JD Payne are penning the script for the pilot, based on an idea by Evan Katz and Manny Coto, who are also in development on the new iteration of 24. Marvel Television and 20th Century Fox Television are producing, with Lauren Shuler Donner, Bryan Singer, Simon Kinberg, Jeph Loeb and Jim Chory serving as executive producers. Evan Katz and Manny Coto will also executive produce and serve as showrunners.
Marvel Television have been busy of late attempting to expand their footprint beyond the two series they have on air on ABC (Marvel’s Agents Of S.H.I.E.LD. and Marvel’s Agent Carter) and four series and one limited series on Netflix (Marvel’s Daredevil, Marvel’s Jessica Jones, Marvel’s Luke Cage, Marvel’s Iron Fist and Marvel’s The Defenders). To that end they also have a half-hour comedy titled Damage Control and two Marvel’s Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D. spin-offs in development at ABC, while FX just ordered a pilot for Marvel drama Legion.
Hellfire joins a healthy development slate at Fox that includes a reboot of feature film Urban Cowboy, a revival of hit series Prison Break; a Lethal Weapon reboot from Warner Bros. Television; single-camera comedy Front Man from Suburgatory creator Emily Kapnek, Elizabeth Banks and Warner Bros. Television; a police shooting event series starring Sanaa Lathan; and a reboot of feature film Behind Enemy Lines from sister studio 20th Century Fox Television.
