What do a giant teleporting dog, magical octopus hair and a near-silent leading man have in common? Well, that would be Marvel's Inhumans, which started life as a far-flung movie which then transformed into a mega IMAX TV show.
Digital Spy travelled to Hawaii to visit the set (it sounds glamorous, but we got terrible sunburn) to get a sneak-peek behind the scenes at ABC's new show which depicts the comic book alternative to the X-Men – and more importantly, an alternative that Marvel actually owns the rights to.
The show features the Inhuman royal family who gain their new superpowers after inhaling the Terrigen Mists – which you might have seen in Marvel's Agents of SHIELD.
"When they're exposed to these crystals that kicks their DNA into... the next iteration of whatever they'll become, they become their true selves," explains Anson Mount, who plays King Black Bolt, whose voice is as powerful as an atomic bomb.
Their "true selves" means blessings and curses for the likes of Black Bolt, his wife and queen Medusa, his brother Maximus and Crystal, the queen's sister.
There's also Karnak their strategist, Gorgon head of their army, Auran who heads up their royal guard, and Triton who can live underwater.
But what exactly can we expect from Marvel's latest TV outing? Well, we've compiled 23 handy info nuggets for you to absorb like an Inhuman chugging down Terrigen Mists...
1) Maximus has NO POWERS
Maximus (Iwan Rheon) has NO POWERS and is left as a puny human after the Terrigen Mists process. Iwan explained: "He's kind of looked down on by the rest of the royal family and the people of Attilan because he's not one of them, in theory."
2) Don't stand near Black Bolt when he sneezes
King Black Bolt (Anson) can destroy a city with his voice and the actor made up his own form of sign language in order to play the character. The rest of the time, his wife Medusa will act as his translator. Oh, and he didn't want to wear the mask of his comic book counterpart. Soz.
3) There's a giant dog that can teleport
Lockjaw the 2,000lb teleporting bulldog WILL appear and belongs to the queen's sister, Crystal. He was a normal dog transformed into a super-sidekick and he'll be entirely CGI – y'know because dogs aren't that big in real life, duh.
4) It WILL crossover with other Marvel stuff... a bit
The show WILL crossover with Agents of SHIELD in the form of the Terrigen Mists and the crystals seen in the show. Showrunner Scott Buck told Digital Spy: "We had to be aware of what's happening in Agents of SHIELD, because we do inhabit the same universe and our characters do come to Earth."
5) But more could happen in future
There aren't currently any plans to tie-in to the wider Marvel Universe, however the cast including Isabelle Cornish who plays Crystal said it "could be fun down the line."
6) There'll be a cliffhanger
The opening two episodes, which will appear in IMAX theatres, might end on a cliffhanger to help create that movie-feel and "leave people wanting more" – the cast said making those episodes was like shooting a "one-month movie".
7) Someone *almost* died
One actor almost died on set! Sonya Balmores, who plays Auran, head of the royal guard, said: "I almost died the other day from exhaustion, because this costume is leather and sometimes it's 90 degrees [in Hawaii] and that thing does NOT breathe."
8) Where will it be set?
Inhumans will be split between two main locations, Hawaii on Earth and Attilan on the Moon.
9) The IMAX episodes took lots of work
Although they spent two months making the first two episodes, the other six were shot in merely eight days each. That's some superhuman speed, right there.
10) Where's Triton at?
Triton (Mike Moh) is deemed the Inhumans' 'operative' and is thought to be living underwater on Earth after the Inhumans decide to leave for Attilan on the Moon.
11) No-one wanted to say much about the movie version
None of the cast were involved back when Inhumans was going to be made as a movie and the team were kinda reluctant to talk about it. Hmmm.
12) It'll be the first of its kind
"There's not going to be anything on TV remotely like this show," says Anson aka Black Bolt.
13) They kinda love wood
The Inhumans' home Attilan has limited resources, as you'd expect from a city on the dark side of the moon, so things like wood and plants are precious materials that only the rich can afford. Black Bolt's bedroom has a bizarre lump of wood hung on the wall like a painting to illustrate this.
14) It's unique in the Marvel Universe
The fact it's about a family – and a royal family at that – is what separates it from other Marvel properties. Anson said: "It's a family that has to deal with politics on a daily basis and on an epic scope."
15) There won't necessarily be baddies
The Inhumans won't necessarily be good and/or evil. Serinda explains: "All of our characters have a fine line. They all kinda wobble a little bit." Ellen Woglom, who plays Louise, added to this point: "Life is not always black and white. People aren't black and white. No-one's only good and only bad. People can be both good and bad."
16) There'll be a lot of CGI
Expect lots of CGI. The actors only saw "30-40% of how it's all going to be" on TV while filming.
17) But also wigs!
Queen Medusa's super-powered hair will be created with both a wig and CGI.
18) Medusa is #HairGoals
Medusa can choke villains with her hair and even cancel calls while getting jiggy with Black Bolt. Just imagine an angry ginger octopus with clumps of hair strands instead of tentacles.
19) The Quiet Room is IN
Black Bolt's Quiet Room will feature in the show as a huge hand-made bowl surrounded by hundreds of lights, which looks incredible.
20) Gorgon's going to be a hothead
Karnak will be yin to Gorgon's yang, says Gorgon actor Eme Ikwuakor. He explained: "I honestly don't think before I act. Then you have Karnak, who is the exact opposite."
21) And massive
Eme Ikwuakor, who plays the head of the Attilan military, had to pile on 15 pounds in order to wear the character's giant Centaur-style legs, which can create seismic shockwaves by stomping.
22) How would the cast sum up Inhumans?
What will the show's tone actually be like? The cast say it's "gritty, fun, adventurous and dark", but most of the cast cite "the whole family thing" as separating it from other Marvel properties.
23) And finally, what's Lockjaw like IRL, eh?
"He drools, sheds a lot and he poops everywhere!" joked Eme and Sonya. We shudder to think how big that poop-a-scoop would need to be...
Marvel's Inhumans debuts in IMAX on September 1. The entire series is coming soon to television and other devices. For more info, go to http://uk.beinhumaninimax.com.
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Laurence Mozafari (he/him) is a multi-award winning journalist, editor, and presenter. A former Editor-in-Chief of Digital Spy, Laurence previously held roles as the site's Editor, Deputy Editor, and Associate Editor focusing on news, social, and video. Laurence hosted the BBC Sounds podcast Obsessed with Peaky Blinders in 2019. He also hosts his own podcast production, Time of My Life, where he interviews fascinating elders about their life lessons, including Only Fools and Horses' Sir David Jason, Star Trek’s George Takei and Bridgerton’s Adjoa Andoh.
Prior to joining Digital Spy, Laurence was previously at Bauer Media working as Digital Editor of Heat magazine's website, Heatworld.com, and has worked at and written for Sky, NME, Q magazine, Grazia, Closer, FHM and dedicated careers website GoThinkBig. He secured a first-class BA journalism degree at Staffordshire University, along with several NCTJ qualifications, and now has 14 years' experience in digital publishing covering TV, movies, music, gaming, tech, showbiz, and travel. Laurence has been a broadcasting contributor on television and radio, including KISS, Heat Radio, BBC Radio London, Radio 5 Live, and BBC Breakfast. He is also a visiting lecturer at various universities teaching journalism, including City, University of London, Nottingham Trent, Staffordshire University and London Metropolitan. Laurence has won numerous awards in his journalism career, including the BSME Talent Award’s Best Deputy Editor, the PPA's 30 Under 30, and the New Editor and Editor of the Year at the AOP and BSMEs. He led Digital Spy to win PPA's Digital Content Team of the Year twice, along with the British Media Awards’ Brand of the Year in 2021. Laurence joined the committee for the British Society of Magazine Editors in 2022. He has since hosted panels with CEOs of Immediate Media and the Media Trust at the PPA Festival, as well as presenting his own radio show on Green Man Radio at Green Man Festival in 2022. Laurence is also a Brits voting academy member. Laurence has been lucky enough to interview numerous celebrities, actors, and musicians throughout his career. Arnold Schwarzenegger loved his hair, Jimmy Carr loved his coat and Antonio Banderas gave a shout-out to his mum. Laurence has covered set visits for The Witcher on Netflix and Marvel’s Inhumans, he got Daisy Ridley to do a Chewbacca impression and loves Marvel, PlayStation, Glastonbury and craft beer. Linkedin
