In the past week, Marvel Studios released a new movie, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, and Marvel TV released trailers for three new TV shows: The Defenders, Runaways, and Inhumans. At one point, those last two were actually movie ideas themselves.
Which brings up the age-old question—what’s up with all this? Will Marvel TV and Marvel Studios ever cross over? In the past, Marvel Studios head Kevin Feige has said that the timelines for making TV and movies are too different for that to be feasible. But with so many characters going to TV (with Cloak and Dagger, New Warriors, and multiple X-Men shows also on the way) as well as the continually growing Marvel Cinematic Universe, maybe there’s a new question. In a recent interview, I asked Feige if a character showing up on TV 100 percent means they can’t end up in a movie in the future.
“Not necessarily,” Feige told io9. “The future’s a long time. So, the truth is, I don’t really know, but there are a lot of TV shows being made, and hopefully we’ll continue to make a lot of movies. At some point, there’s going to be a crossover. Crossover, repetition, or something.”
Meaning, if not a crossover, maybe a character that Marvel TV used could come into the movie universe with a new actor. Like maybe there will be a Luke Cage movie that has nothing to do with the Netflix series. Something like that.
Of course, Feige’s answer makes it pretty clear there isn’t anything like this happening now—just that if your favorite character gets a Marvel TV show, that doesn’t automatically mean they will never become part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. So don’t count out Squirrel Girl just yet.