One glaring downside to Marvel’s shared universe is that although the TV shows from Marvel do seem to happen in the larger Marvel Cinematic Universe, the characters from the Marvel movies seldom step into the small screens. It was only in Agents of Shield Season 1 and in Peggy Carter that Nick Fury, Maria Hill, Lady Sif and Peggy Carter made appearances. But the TV-Movie connection was never explored further. The Avengers Infinity War trailer has been released to critical acclaim and it has brought definitive proof of the one thing everyone feared – Marvel TV universe and the Marvel Cinematic Universe won’t ever mix.
Marvel’s Television shows are kind of their own flock now. They make vague references to the bigger Marvel Movie universe. But all of that seems like lip service now. There have been no major events lately that could affect the movies in any significant way. And unfortunately, both the televised and cinematic worlds of Marvel Studios tend to keep it that way.
The trailer for Agents of Shield Season 5 showed the core cast members encounter a vile, beastly alien species called the Vrellnexians. In Marvel Comics, the Vrellnexians were part of an alien invasion force that tried to attack and take over Asgard, the home of Thor and Loki. The comics portrayed the species as a form of hive-mentality creature with a penchant for violence.
A much similar looking creature was shown in the Infinity War trailer. The hug Wakanda battle sequence showed the soldiers fighting a race of alien creatures looking similar to Agents of Shields’ Vrellnexians. Called the Outriders, these alien parasitic soldiers are genetically engineered and controlled by Thanos to carry out Thanos’s will throughout the Galaxy.
If you look closely, The Vrellnexians and the Outriders look extremely similar with only one critical element of difference – The Outriders have four arms while the Vrellnexians have two.
Give it a little more thought and you will know what we mean – Marvel Studios seems responsible for this change in physiology between the two species two ensure the aliens from the movies are not the same as the ones we see in the TV Show.
So did Marvel make the TV show do last minute changes? Probably yes. The Vrellnexians, unlike what is shown in the trailer, are actually bipedal in the comics. They walk on their hind legs and have two arms to fight back in their vertically inclined upper torso.
The Outriders are the ones that walk on all six legs. Both of them have been portrayed in an odd fashion unlike in the comics.
The Vrellnexians from the TV Show can be seen having a wide protrusion on their upper torso where their extra set of arms was supposed to be. The CGI now looks clumsy and haphazard. Maybe it was the Studio’s call for the Show to re arrange the VFX to make both aliens look unrelated.
Now the Outrider foot soldier and Vrellnexian xenomorph look nothing alike their comic book versions. So much for comic book accuracy.
Will a crossover ever happen in Infinity War? The answer is definitely no. Marvel’s TV and cinematic divisions are in the midst of some sort of Civil War(pun intended). What it means for a TV/Movie crossover for the franchise is that there will never be one. Not until all conflicting issues are resolved anyway.
The alien CGI change in post production is just one of many examples. There have been several instances where the TV heroes had ample opportunity to make their mark and step into the movie theaters but didn’t. So we won’t be seeing the Punisher sniping Ebony Maw from a mile away or Wilson Fisk going against the Friendly Neighborhood Spiderman anytime soon.
The TV division has its own fair share of demons to conquer. Iron Fist season 2 has been officially announced. Another season of Luke Cage and Jessica Jones in the pipeline and Daredevil season 3 leading to a possible Defenders Season 2 is something we can all look forward to. Hulu’s Runaways is already a hit among the fans and Marvel’s Agents of Shield is about to be one hell of a roller coaster ride. Why care for a crossover with the movies to boost ratings when you got plenty of popular characters of your own?
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