It had been rumored, but now it’s official: Jeph Loeb is on the way out at Marvel Television. Loeb was the Marvel TV head for almost a decade, but the recent promotion of Kevin Feige to Marvel’s chief creative officer lead many to believe Loeb’s time with Marvel was coming to an end. Loeb is said to be in the midst of formulating an exit plan and will announce his departure no later than Thanksgiving.
Jeph Loeb was the driving force behind Marvel TV shows like Agents of SHIELD, Daredevil, Jessica Jones, Iron Fist, Luke Cage, and The Defenders. And while those titles have their fans, none of them experienced the same sort of cultural impact as the films being produced by Marvel Studios. Then there were the full-blown misfires like Inhumans, which was canceled after one season having failed to draw in an audience.
None of this is to say that Loeb’s actions within Marvel should be overlooked. He was the person behind the initial deal to bring multiple Marvel shows to Netflix, a move that was considered ground-breaking at the time. Eventually, though, the Marvel Netflix shows found themselves canceled one by one, and now none remain.
When Disney started planning Marvel TV content for their streaming service Disney+, it was Feige’s Marvel Entertainment they turned to, not Loeb’s Marvel TV. The end result is a barrage of originals that tie directly into the Marvel Cinematic Universe: Loki, WandaVision, Falcon & the Winter Soldier, What If, Ms. Marvel, She-Hulk, Hawkeye, and Moon Knight. These still-unseen shows appear to already be generating more excitement than any of the Marvel TV shows that came before.
Earlier this month, Kevin Feige was named Marvel’s CCO, a move that resulted in Loeb’s Marvel TV now working directly under Feige. The moment that news broke, speculation began about the future of Marvel TV, and Loeb’s position. According to THR, Loeb had “been prepping to leave well before the Oct. 15 news that Kevin Feige had been elevated to Marvel’s chief creative officer,” so this move was apparently going to happen regardless. Loeb will no doubt move on to another major media company, and Marvel will keep on doing what it’s been doing – amassing total media domination.
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