AKA Jessica Jones coming to ABC

How does one "return" to television when one is already on a show that's been renewed for a second season?

 

Claire Danes is the female lead in Homeland on Showtime which sounds like it's in for the duration, but another actress with a similar sort of looks is Lake Bell.

Or dare I suggest Katee Sackhoff?

PS, I miscounted, ABC "only" has 16 sf/f shows in development. That I've heard of.

 

Wasn't "Alias" originally supposed to be about Jessica 'Spider-woman' Drew having lost her powers and working as PI? I seem to recall that Bendis originally envisioned that and then either he or Marvel had second thoughts about using Jessica D in a "Max" series.

 

^^ I think Bendis denied that, didn't he? I mean, they used Captain America in Max, so I don't think they'd have a problem using a then-dormant character like Jessica Drew.

I actually like the Katee Sackhoff idea better than Lake Bell. Jessica Jones has to be tough and world-weary, and Lake Bell is more about being tanned and bikini-wearing.

 

I had no idea that Claire was in "Homeland". I don't think Katee is right for Jess. There have been rumours that yes "Alias" was originally supposed to be about Jessica Drew not Jones but as RDJ has stated I think Bendis has denied this.

 

I did some checking. In a 2005 interview he said this:

• Originally, "Alias" was going to star Jessica Drew, but it became something else entirely. Which is good, because had we used Jessica it would have been off continuity and bad storytelling. So, when we were putting together "New Avengers," I put her because I had all these ideas for her and thought this was a place where I could finally do it and no one will be mad or care. She's an interesting female character who hasn't seen the light of day in a while and I think she's got this great costume. Then, all of a sudden this happens!

 

Interesting. I could have sworn he said the opposite.

On the other hand, he also claims to care about continuity.

 

I have a cynical gut feeling that Bendis and/or Marvel would prefer not having to deal with a "who owns the character" legal issue now that the series is optioned for TV.

If Bendis stuck by the "it was originally Jessica Drew" story then it raises all sorts of legal questions about how much of the story is really the creation of Stan Lee, Archie Goodwin, Sal Buscema, etc.

 

That could be. Is the series being done by Marvel Productions or some other studio?

 

ABC/Marvel Studios. Same as for the "Hulk" series.

 

That probably simplifies legal matters. On the other hand, I really have no idea how that stuff works.

 

There was another thread where we went through all the properties that Marvel Studios has under it's umbrella currently. As mentioned in my original post in thread Marvel Studios is also trying to develop a "Cloak and Dagger" series as well.

 

I'm an attorney and I have very little idea how this stuff works. Copyright and intellectual property law is a complicated issue.

Bendis being a post-1980s contributor, presumably has a contract that specifies what royalties, etc., he gets from "Alias" and/or any adaptions of same.

On the other hand, Marvel has seen both silver and bronze age creators--including Stan Lee himself--try and sue when stuff they created, or co-created, gets made into a movie or TV series.

With this in mind, I can easily envision both Bendis and Marvel not wanting to open up another legal can of worms if they don't have to.

 

And "Mockingbird".

 

Damn!

I was really looking forward to this. Hopefully, We'll still see the pilot somewhere.

 

A pilot was never filmed. It didn't get past the script stage.

 

That's too bad, a TV show like this would have been a good way to utilize some of Marvel's lesser-known characters that might not have gotten a shot at a theatrical film.

 

Now that ABC is hot to do a Marvel character TV series, they should opt for Dr. Strange. He fits their lineup the best, being compatible with supernatural series like 666 Park Ave. and Zero Hour.

But the Hulk (still in development) would be a very strange choice. Not very compatible with the rest of their shows - fairy tales, Satanic stories and soap operas.

 

Considering the current renditioning of Jessica... but in the beginning she was awkward and frumpy, and the mouth on her would make Andy Dick blush.

Have you seen the new HBO series Girls?

Lenah Dunham sounds like Bendis is writing her and looks like Gaydos is drawing her.

Mark Bagley just didn't get the character.

Zero is not a Size.