by VUDU's viewing party of Spider-Man: Far From Home.

Is the Marvel television universe dead?

Everything is connected, that used to be what fans

were told about how the Marvel Cinematic Universe

and Marvel's television series tied into each other.

We were promised a rich, shared world

where what happened on the ground level with TV heroes

would tie into and be reflected by what happened

on movie screens with Avengers-level threats.

And for a brief time, things seemed hunky-dory with that.

Marvel TV's flagship series, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.,

definitely reacted to things that happened

in the MCU, most notably the shocking turn of events

in Captain America: The Winter Soldier,

where it was revealed that S.H.I.E.L.D.

had been infiltrated by HYRDA and ended

with the spy organization collapsing.

However, the love was never really reciprocated

by the Marvel films.

Threat after threat came to New York City

with nary a Defender to be spotted on the big screen.

For every mention of the Incident in Daredevil,

AKA the Chitari invasion of the Big Apple,

there was only silence from the Avengers

in regard to their Hells' Kitchen counterparts.

And let's not even get into Inhumans.

The project that started as an MCU film,

but ended up being the short-lived TV show

that was practically canceled five minutes

into the first episode.

Sorry, Black Bolt.

However, while the MCU and Marvel Television

never outright contradicted each other,

the two sides have also never played together

like fans had hoped they would,

and now rumors are swirling that the future

of Marvel Television might be at risk

of getting snapped away by Thanos himself.

With insiders reporting that Marvel Studios

might be taking over all future Marvel offerings for TV.

But is Marvel Television really dead?

Let's take a look at both sides of the equation.

First, let's define what exactly

constitutes Marvel Television.

Marvel TV, run by Jeph Loeb, is a separate entity

from Marvel Studios, where Marvel TV still reports

to Marvel comics head, Ike Perlmutter,

Kevin Feige at Marvel Studios reports directly

to Disney itself.

Marvel TV is made up of shows

like ABC's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. and Agent Carter,

Fox's and FX's shows like The Gifted and Legion,

Hulu's Runaways, Freeform's Cloak and Dagger,

and the various Netflix Marvel series.

And the MCU is, well, it's the MCU.

We should all know the films by now.

The first bit of evidence is that there isn't much left

on the Marvel TV slate of projects.

Their big hits like Legion and Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.

have either ended or are preparing to end.

Netflix has canceled all of their Marvel shows,

and with the costumes and props

having been sold off, it's safe to assume those versions

of the characters are donezo.

And while Marvel Television is still developing

a Helstrom series for Hulu, it was recently announced

that the Ghost Rider series that was also being developed

was canceled, the rumor being

is that it was so the character

can be used in the MCU instead.

What Marvel Television still has though are Runaways

and Cloak and Dagger, both of which seem

to be going strong, perhaps because they cater

to their younger audiences in a fun, authentic way.

But the most damning evidence that Marvel TV

is in trouble isn't just the fact that Kevin Feige

and Marvel Studios are making shows

based on their popular film characters,

but that they are also tackling shows with characters

that haven't made a feature film debut,

like Ms. Marvel and Moon Knight.

With Marvel Studios stepping

into the streaming television game,

this means that they are now a direct competitor

with Marvel TV.

And that's just not sustainable.

It wouldn't be shocking for one of them

to eventually fade away into nothingness,

and it's easy to guess which of the two that could be.

In regards to all of this, one TV literary agent

told Variety, "Feige's shows are so far

"beyond anything Marvel TV has been able to do.

"He has access to all of these MCU characters

"that the other Marvel live-action stuff just doesn't,

"not to mention way bigger budgets."

However, Variety also reported, "A Marvel Television insider

"told Variety that the company

"has several live-action projects

"at various stages of development.

"A spokesperson for Marvel Television

"declined to comment.

"Marvel Studios did not respond

"to a request for a comment."

Looking at all the all the evidence,

it does seem that Kevin Feige and Marvel Studios

will be taking the reigns on most Marvel live-action shows

from now on, but this doesn't mean the end

for Marvel Television as an entity.

Marvel TV is still working on several animated projects

for Hulu, based on Marvel characters,

like MODOK and Howard the Duck.

This seems to be a safe direction for them to go in

by making their own animated universe

that is separate from the MCU

using characters that might not work in live-action,

and of course, this only pertains to Disney-owned

and licensed Marvel characters.

We know that Sony's developing several television shows

with Phil Lord and Chris Miller

for the Marvel characters they own the rights to.

Spider-Man and his amazing friends and enemies.

So there still will be other Marvel TV shows,

but from other companies instead of from multiples companies

under the Disney umbrella.

But what do you folks think?

Is Marvel Television fading away?

What Marvel TV show would you want to see

under the Marvel Studios umbrella,

and are you looking forward

to Sony's upcoming Marvel TV shows?

Let's discuss.

Thanks again to VUDU for sponsoring today's episode.

Spider-Man fans, get ready to hit the web.

On October 4th, VUDU, the streaming service

with all the latest movies to rent or buy

and even thousands of titles to watch for free,

is hosting a viewing party for Spider-Man: Far From Home.

Join VUDU along with Nerdist alums, Dan Casey

and Maude Garrett, as you stream your copy

of Spider-Man: Far From Home on VUDU

at 9 p.m. Eastern, 6 p.m. Pacific.

Follow VUDU on Twitter @VUDUFans

and use the hashtag #VUDUViewingParty

to join the conversation and for a chance

to win some awesome prizes, like a 65-inch TV,

an autograph poster, a PS4, and more!

Rent or buy Spider-Man: Far From Home on VUDU

to tune in, we'll see you there.

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