Will 'Agent Carter' Be Replaced By 'Ms. Marvel' On ABC?

On Friday, the future of Agent Carter came into question when it was revealed by EW John Ridley was hired by ABC to write a new, currently under-wraps Marvel project. Given the fact EW specified ABC and not ABC Studios in its report, one's left to assume the series in question isn't one of the two remaining Netflix shows still in need of a writer (Iron Fist and The Defenders), but a new series for ABC proper. Now, while still in major speculation territory, a new rumor floating around online suggests that project is in fact an adaptation of the current Ms. Marvel comic line starring a lead that would serve the network well considering its current rate of success with diverse casts.

ComicBookMovie.com managed to save the since deleted Reddit post that originally stated, “originally, ABC pitched [Ridley] Cloak and Dagger, since they've tried to develop it in the past, but Ridley took more interest in a certain Kamala Khan and decided to incorporate her into the MCU.” For the uninitiated, Kamala Khan has served as Marvel Comics’ Ms. Marvel since February 2014 while Carol Danvers (the original Ms. Marvel) – a character confirmed to be receiving hew own feature film as part of the MCU’s “Phase Three” – has held on to the Captain Marvel name since 2012. In the same Reddit post, it’s claimed Marvel’s going to announce – presumably at the ABC upfronts in May – that Ridley is on Ms. Marvel, a project that will air in the winter break of a new Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. spin-off being developed by two of the show’s writers, while Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. and Agent Carter return for another round on the schedule for seasons three and two respectively.

So, this is a lot of speculation coming all at once, some of which falls within the realm of possibility, and some of which does not. Given the ratings of season one, a fresh round of Agent Carter just doesn’t seem too feasible when the show doesn’t even have ebough juice at 8-episodes a pop to make it to a reasonable syndication number. A third season of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. does seem likely though, as does a new spin-off… this is however where things really go off the rails. While it seems reasonable ABC would be exploring the possibility of developing a new show based on a title with more name recognition than “S.H.I.E.L.D.” or “Peggy Carter,” the likelihood of this happening all at once during the fall/spring time-frame assumes the network and studio (ABC Studios produces the shows alongside Marvel Television) are willing to sink a massive amount of money into something that hasn’t really panned out for them financially.

S.H.I.E.L.D. does moderately okay in the ratings but really has potential to deliver on the back-end, as is the case with many shows on broadcast television that are owned under the same umbrella as the network that airs them (much like every series on The CW). Carter, however, only went down in ratings compared to its Clark Gregg lead cousin while Daredevil can only be read as a success via critical acclaim since Netflix doesn’t release viewership data. What would make more sense from a money perspective, assuming the rumor has any basis in reality, is ABC and Marvel working together to develop an Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. spin-off that fills the winter gap of the mother ship series while Ms. Marvel is developed as some kind of event series, possibly for the summer – a place where ABC has yet to really make headway like NBC, CBS and Fox . This kind of diffusion of risk would allow ABC the best chance to succeed with an entity that hasn’t worked out nearly as well as some of its more notable names such as Shonda Rhimes and Modern Family.

In addition, the current iteration of Ms. Marvel would work out nicely for ABC given the character's background as a Muslim teenager from New Jersey. ABC was one of the only networks pre- Empire to push hard for diverse casts in its series – mostly thanks to Shonda Rhimes. So, it would make sense the Disney-owned network would want the Marvel character adapted into live action in some capacity… and if her ethnicity is intended to be worked into the show’s plot in any way, Ridley seems like a very competent writer to handle the task considering the subject matter of American Crime.

A second season of Agent Carter is possible, especially in the days of fandom inspired renewals (just ask Hannibal – which has even less incentive for renewal by NBC than Carter at ABC), but to call it likely just seems like wish fulfillment more than anything else. However, the idea of a Ms. Marvel show seems possible given the newly found interest by broadcast networks to cast diverse leads and the fact that Arrow and The Flash have worked out as well as they have for The CW. When it comes to superhero fair on network TV, it definitely seems like audiences want more of the “super” and less of the “ordinary interacting with super,” and Ms. Marvel could be ABC’s chance to deliver on that very desire.