Template:Infobox Inhumans IMAX
"The First Chapter" is the first and second episodes and two-part series premiere of the American television series Inhumans, initially released together as an IMAX film. Based on the Marvel Comics race of the same name, the episodes revolve around Black Bolt and other members of the Inhuman Royal Family, and are set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), sharing continuity with the films and other television series of the franchise. The episodes were written by Scott Buck and directed by Roel Reiné, with series regulars Anson Mount, Serinda Swan, Ken Leung, Eme Ikwuakor, Isabelle Cornish, Ellen Woglom, and Iwan Rheon starring. The episodes see the Inhuman Royal Family exiled to Hawaii after a coup by Maximus.
Inhumans was announced in November 2016 from ABC Studios and Marvel Television, with IMAX Entertainment as a financing partner. Reiné was hired in January 2017, with Mount cast as Black Bolt the next month. Filming began in March 2017, at the former Naval Air Station Barbers Point airfield in Kalaeloa, Hawaii and various locations on the island of Oahu. The episodes were filmed on IMAX digital cameras, with Inhumans the first live-action television series to debut on IMAX screens. Different versions of the episodes were created for the IMAX and ABC releases, with the ABC version featuring additional, exclusive content and television-specific edits. Visual effects were provided by seven visual effects houses, which were created for IMAX screens but produced on a television budget and schedule.
"The First Chapter" premiered in Los Angeles on August 28, 2017, following months of poorly received marketing. It debuted in IMAX theaters on September 1, running for two weeks, earning $2.85 million, and earned negative reviews. The episodes will premiere on ABC on September 29.
On the island of Oahu, Triton is in search of a newly transformed Inhuman when they are attacked by a strike team. The team is able to kill the new Inhuman and injure Triton as he jumps into the ocean to escape. In Attilan, the secret city of the Inhumans on the Moon, Black Bolt, Medusa and other members of the Inhuman Royal Family attend a Terrigenesis ceremony for two members of society, where they are exposed to Terrigen Mist to reveal their Inhuman powers. After the process, one receives the ability of flight, while the other does not believe he has received powers. When Black Bolt's brother Maximus, who does not have abilities, goes to console him and touches his shoulder, the boy gets a vision, telling Maximus he sees him pinned against a wall with snakes attacking him.
After the ceremony, Maximus learns of Triton's mission on Earth, and approaches Black Bolt on the matter. Black Bolt explains that he sent Triton to Earth to help find humans who had undergone Terrigenesis due to Terrigen entering Earth's water supply and bring them back to Attilan to live without fear of being prosecuted. Unhappy to hear Triton may be dead, Gorgon heads to Earth to find him. While Black Bolt retreats to think, Maximus approaches Medusa to see if she regrets marrying Black Bolt. Offended, Medusa attacks Maximus with her prehensile hair, which Maximus realizes is the vision the boy saw come true. On Earth, Gorgon is pursued by the same strike team, who receive a kill order from Maximus as Maximus has begun a coup on Attilan to remove Black Bolt and Medusa from ruling. Karnak learns of what Maximus is doing, and begins to warn Medusa and her sister Crystal. Crystal has her dog Lockjaw send Karnak to Earth for safety, and does the same with Medusa and Black Bolt.
Realizing they have all been stranded and separated on Earth, Karnak and Medusa begin to search for Black Bolt to reunite with him, and Gorgon uses his communication device to contact Maximus, hoping it will be tracked so the fight will come to him. Black Bolt is arrested by the Honolulu Police after his arrival causes a traffic disturbance and subsequently shoplifts new clothes. Maximus' head of security Auran pursues Medusa to Earth, only for Medusa to stab Auran for her betrayal. Maximus addresses the people of Attilan as their new king.
In a post-credits scene, Auran is seen healing her stab wound and requesting Maximus to send back up to take care of the Royal Family.
Crystal's 2,000-pound (910 kg) teleporting canine companion Lockjaw also appears in the episodes, created through CGI.[4][7]
In November 2016, Marvel Television and IMAX Corporation announced the eight-episode television series Inhumans, to be produced in conjunction with ABC Studios and air on ABC,[8][1] with the series set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.[9] In December, Scott Buck, the showrunner for the first season of the Marvel Netflix series Iron Fist, was revealed to also be executive producing and showrunning Inhumans;[10] Jeph Loeb and Jim Chory also executive produce the series.[6] In January 2017, Roel Reiné was announced as the director of the first two episodes.[11] Reiné felt he was chosen because he was able to make the episodes "look really big" on a small budget and short schedule.[12] Buck served as writer for the two episodes.[13]
IMAX serves as a financing partner on Inhumans, the first time it had done so for a television series,[8] paying completely for "The First Chapter".[14] Because of this, the budget for Inhumans was higher than Marvel's other series, a positive for the episodes' visual effects.[15][14] Buck felt working with IMAX "gave us a lot more freedom and pushed and encouraged us to think a little bit bigger than we would if it was just a normal network show. We just wanted to think bigger in terms of scope, and what we were seeing, and how we bring these characters to the audience."[9] Loeb cautioned that Inhumans was "a television show that is premiering in an IMAX theater" rather than a true film, but that it would still be a spectacle, and "a unique way to be able to see TV".[16]
Buck said that the premiere was intended to be "something that absolutely stands on its own", but hoped that it would "intrigue people enough to make them want to watch the rest of the show." The episodes begin "one big story leading us through the season" that focuses on the family drama of the Inhuman Royal Family.[9]
In late February 2017, Iwan Rheon was cast as Maximus,[6] followed shortly by Anson Mount as Black Bolt.[1] There was no audition for the role of Black Bolt since the character does not speak, with Mount instead cast due to an existing relationship with Loeb, who felt Mount would fit the role.[17] At the start of March, the series added Serinda Swan as Medusa,[2] Ken Leung as Karnak,[3] Eme Ikwuakor as Gorgon, Isabelle Cornish as Crystal,[4] and Ellen Woglom as Louise.[4][5]
Mike Moh and Sonya Balmores were also cast in March 2017, as the guest roles of Triton and Auran, respectively.[4]
The sets of the series were designed and built more vertically than usual to accommodate the IMAX release,[18] with Carlos Barbosa serving as production designer. Crystal's bedroom was designed to be able to fit Lockjaw, her 2,000-pound (910 kg) dog; because he can teleport, the set's door frames did not have to be sized to the character, but areas such as where he sleeps in her room did.[16]
Filming for "The First Chapter" began by March 5, 2017, in Downtown Honolulu,[19] under the working title Project Next.[20][19] Jeff Jur served as cinematographer on the episodes,[12] and Jean Higgins as producer during filming.[21] Studio work for the episodes took place in Kalaeloa, Hawaii at the former Naval Air Station Barbers Point airfield.[21] Additional filming occurred at Diamond Head,[22] and the Hawaii State Capitol building.[23] Filming on both episodes lasted for 20 days.[24]
The episodes were shot on Arri Alexa 65 IMAX 2D digital cameras, to accommodate a debut on IMAX screens.[18][12] On shooting with the IMAX cameras, Reiné stated that "shaky handheld stuff doesn't really work for IMAX," so he chose "to move the cameras more forwards and backwards," which was also helped capture the larger sets built.[24] However, after seeing IMAX footage of Dunkirk that utilized handheld shots, Reiné was able to incorporate some in the episodes.[12] Reiné received a list of lenses that Dunkirk director Christopher Nolan used, to help him understand how different lenses worked for the format.[12] A new, wider lens was crafted for the cameras specifically for use on Inhumans,[5][25] as Reiné was not happy with the widest lenses already available. He described the new lens as "beautifully distorted" and "something we’ve never seen before in IMAX". Reiné looked to balance the scale of IMAX with more traditional, "intimate" television direction. The crew spent the first three days of filming taking "a lot of different shots, that have different flavors, different lenses, different locations, different characters and we mixed them together in kind of a test" to screen on IMAX and assess how the project was turning out.[12] Jur said that the IMAX lenses were "a little slower" than modern film lenses he was used to working with, but that they worked well with his tendency to "light up" sets rather than film in darker settings. Jur also noted that the IMAX cameras gave them more control over "how much is in focus in the background".[12]
Marvel and ABC were reluctant to allow Reiné to film the episodes in a cinematic way, rather than a more traditional television style, in fear that they would not be able to change the style for the rest of the television-only episodes in the series if need be. Reiné convinced the studios to let him film each scene in multiple ways and then decide, and used three cameras for each shot to get "rule shots", an ABC version, and his preferred version. After seeing the different takes, Marvel and ABC also preferred Reiné's version. As an example, Reiné filmed a dialogue scene between Maximus and another character using traditional close-ups, but also did an "extreme version" where the camera moved 360 degrees around the pair as their movements were timed to the dialogue, and the studios preferred the latter version as well.[26] Reiné also filmed different versions of scene transitions—specific shots were intended to end each television episode act, before a commercial break, but would not be used for the theatrical release because "the story has to continue", so different transitions were filmed for that purpose.[12]
"The First Chapter" features over 600 visual effects shots,[5] created by seven visual effects houses.[26] Digital Media created many of the episodes' effects,[27] while Double Negative, who Reiné called "the best house to do creatures", provided the visual effects for Lockjaw.[12] Double Negative began work on the character in early February 2017, ahead of filming on the episodes, but did not receive approval on the final design for Lockjaw until April 2017, during filming of the series' fifth episode.[16] For Lockjaw's teleportation effect, Reiné wanted "something really organic", and created sketches to pitch "the idea of how Lockjaw would organically dissolve into a sandburst", which Buck and Marvel both loved.[28] Visual effects supervisor Eric Grenaudier noted that the team was trying to create effects that would hold up on an IMAX screen and be equivalent to those seen in the MCU films, but with a television budget and schedule.[16] Reiné gave specific direction for Medusa's hair in each shot that it had to be animated, for instance having it move away from her shoulder when Maximus touches it in one scene, and then moving it back when he leaves. Reiné was able to get all the effects shots that he wanted in the episodes.[26]
Marvel, ABC, and IMAX had intended for Reiné to work on the series during filming, and then move onto other projects and leave them to put the episodes together, but Reiné insisted on remaining with the production and working on the editing process. IMAX Entertainment CEO Greg Foster later praised this, saying "post is gonna be different. It always is different. We are the world’s largest cinematic magnifying glass. If you don’t design it for IMAX and deliver it for IMAX, there’s gonna be a series of problems that our fans aren’t gonna like. There is no doubt that it’s gonna take a little longer, and that’s why having the director for a longer period of time exclusively devoted to this project was so critical to all of us." An edit of the two episodes intended for television and a version designed for the IMAX release were created.[12] After filming versions of each scene that he felt were either more cinematic or more suited to traditional television,[26] Reiné had the television version use more close-ups and the IMAX version focus more on showing scale. The two versions also used the different scene transitions that Reiné had filmed.[12] The theatrical version totals 75 minutes, and the broadcast version 84 minutes.[29]
Series composer Sean Callery created 70 minutes of music for the episodes, with a 68-piece orchestra.[30] Versions of "Paint It Black" by The Rolling Stones and "Break On Through (To the Other Side)" by The Doors are featured in the episodes.[31]
Reiné said during filming, "There was always a Marvel executive around me just to make sure that whatever I did, or whatever we did together, would tie in with other characters in other universes, in other comics, in other series or movies... It was very collaborative. … Nine out of ten times they liked what I pitched–even radical things."[24] The Terrigen outbreak in Earth's water supply, that occurred on Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., is mentioned,[25] while the Kree hieroglyphic language also introduced on Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. is seen.[12]
The theatrical version had its premiere in Los Angeles at Universal CityWalk on August 28, 2017,[32] and debuted on 667 IMAX screens in 67 countries on September 1, 2017.[33][34][35] It will run for two weeks,[35] though, as with all IMAX releases, each theater "determine[s] showtimes on a week-to-week basis", so Inhumans may not remain on IMAX screens at some theaters for the stated two weeks.[36] The episodes will premiere in IMAX theaters in Italy and Germany on September 15, and in Korea on September 22,[34] eventually playing on more than 1,000 IMAX screens in over 74 countries.[14] The producers worked with Marvel Studios so the theatrical debut of the series could be timed to not interfere with the release of any MCU films—the theatrical run of the episodes is between the releases of Spider-Man: Homecoming and Thor: Ragnarok.[15][14]
ABC will broadcast the first two episodes, featuring 9 minutes of exclusive content not shown in the IMAX version,[37][29] on September 29, 2017.[35] The episodes are titled "Behold... The Inhumans" and "Those Who Would Destroy Us".[38] CTV will air the episodes in Canada.[39]
A short teaser for the series was released ahead of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 IMAX screenings on its opening weekend (May 5, 2017), as well as online.[40] The first trailer for the series was screened exclusively at ABC's advertiser upfront presentation on May 17, with reactions praising the visuals for Lockjaw.[41] The first public trailer was released on June 29, after footage had leaked online from ABC's upfront reveal.[42] Darrell Etherington of TechCrunch felt the trailer "looks like a dismal low-rent sci-fi trainwreck" and Mount "does a very bad job of acting in the few scenes he’s in during this very short trailer, and the sets look like they were put together from Stargate TV show lot sell-offs, hastily repainted."[43] The trailer for io9's Charles Pulliam-Moore made him "confidently say that the show looks like it’s going to be a mess." He noted that in the comics the Inhumans have "extremely melodramatic" stories, which would require a series on them to have "a deft writing hand and a sizable special effects budget. Judging from the looks of the trailer, though, a lot of that is going to be missing from the show."[44] Cody Schultz, writing for FanSided's Hidden Remote, said the trailer left him "feeling underwhelmed and wanting so much more. While there are a few slightly memorable moments sprinkled into the trailer, it comes off as a bit stale and bland".[45]
An extended trailer for the series was shown at San Diego Comic Con International 2017, before also being released online, and appeared before IMAX screenings of the film Dunkirk. Fans in attendance at the panel enjoyed the footage,[5] with Swan feeling the positive fan response to the completed effects for Medusa's hair was "vindication".[27] However, Katharine Trendacosta at io9 felt the footage made the series "look a bit less terrible" and noted "all the dialogue in these scenes are stilted and stiff."[46] Ethan Anderton with /Film, on the clips shown, enjoyed seeing Black Bolt communicate with sign language, but felt the footage was "more like a melodramatic soap opera" with "no power behind the drama" than something compelling like Game of Thrones. He also felt the fight choreography and editing was "clunky". For Medusa's hair, Anderton noted it "actually looks perfect when we see it animated in action... When her hair begins to move because of her heightened emotions, it looks natural and fantastic. But when it goes back to the practical wig, it looks abysmal." He concluded, "Inhumans doesn’t look like anything special. The series feels like it’s trying to have a compelling power struggle, but it doesn’t come through in the performances seen in the footage from the pilot episode. It feels more in line with something like Hercules with Kevin Sorbo or Xena: Warrior Princess."[47]
In August, Reiné said that he was not surprised by the reaction to the initial trailer because "it didn’t give you the scope, it didn’t give you a lot of secrets or visual effects. I felt it was a little bit too early because the visual effects were not ready—Medusa’s hair was not ready." He felt the second trailer was better, and was happy with the fan response to it.[48] Around that time, the first episode was released for critics to view ahead of the series' Television Critics Association (TCA) press tour panel, but initial reactions posted online were shortly taken down.[49] At the TCA event, Dungey said the show is "still a work in progress. We're really down to the wire on some of the special effects."[50] Loeb reiterated this, responding to questions from critics of the first episode's quality not being "IMAX-centric" by saying, "the show you have seen is not the finished product".[51] The panel was cut short by ABC, and was widely considered by critics in attendance to be "awkward" and "uncomfortable".[49][52] Later in the month, a new teaser for the series focusing on the different characters appeared to show Medusa's hair having been "improved", though /Film's Hoai-Tran Bui felt that the teaser otherwise "doesn’t do much more to convince me that this series won’t be a hot mess ... [it] still seems to be suffering from its quick, shoddy production so that it could make the bewildering IMAX premiere".[53]
RelishMix, which analyzes activity across all major social platforms, noted the release strategy of "The First Chapter" was "causing confusion with fans" with some "under the impression that it's a film", and not episodes of a television series. The service also noted "fans aware of the show and its exclusive premiere have expressed the notion that IMAX is too expensive and they will wait for the television premiere [with] other skepticism around the characters and production value," such as feeling the visual effects were "sub-par" compared to those in MCU films from Marvel Studios.[33]
Foster said, ahead of the IMAX release, that the company expected Inhumans to be more successful at the box office than what they had previously released in the theatrical window beginning September 1, which was generally the re-release of an old film rather than any new content.[54] However, whether the project was considered a success or not would depend on its ratings performance on television, with the hope being that regular IMAX customers would be introduced to the series with the theatrical release, and then watch the rest of it on ABC, when they may not have done so otherwise.[55]
As of September 7, 2017[update], "The First Chapter" has grossed $1.52 million in the United States and Canada, and $1.33 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $2.85 million.[56] "The First Chapter" earned $500,000 on its opening day in the United States and Canada, and earned $1.36 million over the 4-day Labor Day weekend.[33] Outside the United States and Canada, the episodes earned $1.1 million from 65 markets.[34] Box office analyst Jeff Bock of Exhibitor Relations called the opening weekend earnings "ho-hum" adding "I just don't think the average moviegoer knew what this was, and if they did, they certainly didn't know it was debuting in theaters before its TV debut."[57]
IGN's Joshua Yehl gave "The First Chapter" a 4.0 out of 10, stating the episodes did not "live up to the usual Marvel standard" and were "a disappointment on every level". He felt, "The costumes and makeup look like a group of friends decided to do Inhumans cosplay the day before Comic-Con. The royal palace, a main setting, looks like a warehouse on the outside and is full of bland, forgettable spaces on the inside. The clunky dialogue sounds like a first draft, not the sharp material you’d expect from the MCU... [resulting in] no firm tone or personality." Despite the release in IMAX, Yehl felt the story did not "have the scope, scale, or polish to make use of such a bold format" and criticized the fact that, while being presented as one film, episode recap flashbacks were still included halfway between the break in episodes. Yehl also noted having Buck as showrunner, who also worked on the poorly reviewed first season of Iron Fist, "speaks volumes as to why Inhumans is just as misguided in its approach and execution."[58] David Pepose of Newsarama also gave the episodes a 4 out of 10. Pepose noted "Buck’s instincts to rely more on his characters than on his plot is a good instinct - but because the acting and the production values seem so wooden, that makes the overall arc of this series seem more threadbare than ambitious," and the story presented many puzzling inconsistencies. He did feel there was potential in having the series set on both Earth and Attilan "- either as political drama about the future of a self-destructing society or as the ultimate fish-out-of-water story - but this series not so much refuses to choose between the two as much as fails to acknowledge any particular angle whatsoever." Pepose ultimately concluded "the final product feels aimless and bleached-out, with its network television sensibilities and budget feels self-consciously evident... This show sounded great on paper, but after years of buildup, Inhumans feels like its lead character, Black Bolt - all dressed up but has nothing to say."[13]
Writing for Digital Spy, Morgan Jeffrey also had negative thoughts on the premiere episodes. Despite calling Mount "the show's MVP", enjoying the "visually epic" location shots of Hawaii and CGI vista, and feeling "the themes at the heart of the series [were] compelling, with plenty of potential," Jeffrey took issue with the "flat, uninspired screenplay" from Buck. He concluded, "For Marvel completists only, Inhumans is – as many had anticipated – the weakest entry in the MCU to date, across screens big and small. A severe throwback to the mostly underwhelming comic book adaptations of the pre-Iron Man age, this looks to be a serious misstep, one that'll hopefully provoke the House of M to take a step back and reevaluate their creative strategy. Because, after all, who thought it was a smart idea to hand the guy behind the maligned Iron Fist the keys to another major property?"[59] Awarding "The First Chapter" a 1 out of 5, Kim Taylor-Foster of Fandom felt the episodes were "a massive letdown" and were "largely stripped of personality and flair". Taylor-Foster pointed out that various moments in the episodes came across as funny, when they were not meant to be, and "when it's meant to be funny with a flippant aside, you're groaning and shifting awkwardly at its corniness." She also stated the characters were underdeveloped and the IMAX aspect of the episodes was "kind of wasted" with moments meant to highlight that aspect "few and far between". Although she felt Lockjaw was the series "main saving grace", ultimately, "In concentrating on making a splash with its IMAX premiere, ["The First Chapter"] refuses to push boundaries in other, more important areas. Sadly, that means a lacklustre beginning to a series that was meant to wow."[31]
Charles Pulliam-Moore from io9 also had mixed feelings on the episodes, noting, "Inhumans is neither good nor bad. Rather, it’s in a perpetual state of existential flux that is impossible not to recognize." He felt the episodes "effectively sets the stage for a grand, sweeping narrative in which every major player is on a distinct personal journey that would make for an excellent season of television... [But f]or all of the potential that these threads have, the larger tapestry that Inhumans could try to weave is undeniably tarnished by the show’s obvious budget constraints." Pulliam-Moore specifically noted how Atillan "looks like a badly rendered cutscene from a video game (the wide shots) or like it was shot on a sound stage (the interior shots)" and Medusa's hair "moves with all of the special effects magic of a film from the late ‘90s."[60] Giving the episodes a "C+", TVLine's Matt Webb Mitovich said the episodes felt "'small' and even claustrophobic at times, especially in the Attilan interiors. The city itself is 'Positano by way of cement mixer', an uninteresting mish-mash of blocky, CGI'd dwellings, its 'slums' only distinguished by an on-screen chyron... Even Hawaii, where the Earth-bound action is set, looks a bit bland, save for some establishing flyover shots." He criticized the storytelling, such as the "poorly and unclearly depicted" powers of Karnak, but was more positive on the second episode, saying it "gains in momentum" allowing "better acting opportunities/choices. A greater variety of environments. And the potential for smarter character moments."[61]
Awarding the episodes a "C-", Darren Franich of Entertainment Weekly saying, "There are so many boring ways to portray a fantasy civilization, and Marvel’s Inhumans has them all... Inhumans has an eight-episode run on ABC, but by the second hour, it already feels like they’re stalling, or running out the clock... [Inhumans] represents all the worst instincts of Marvel’s TV arm. The plot is also the feeling you get watching: Witness cosmic imagination brought down to boring Earth."[62] Collider's Allison Keene awarded the episodes 1 star out of 5, calling them "an incredible mess" and feeling the episodes got better when imagining them as a comedy, opposed to a drama, and that it was "a show that could actually be improved by a laugh track." Keene felt some of the bright spots of the episodes were Lockjaw and Medusa once she is exiled to Earth but ultimately concluded, "Marvel’s excessively miscalculated series is nearly performance art. It’s theater of the absurd. Or maybe it’s just a sloppy and hastily thrown together TV show to satisfy a corporate obligation, and no amount of Terrigen Mist is going to turn it into something interesting."[63] Maureen Ryan writing for Variety felt Iron Fist, another series with Buck as showrunner, looked "like Citizen Kane next to this slapped-together, incoherent, cheap-looking mess... Even for those of us who review TV programs for a living, it’s difficult to capture the breadth, depth and scope of Inhumans' awfulness... The characters are somehow less than one-dimensional, the story is beyond predictable, and everything looks cheaper than a Doctor Who serial from 40 years ago."[64]
