Marvel’s “Inhumans” has an interesting rollout strategy next month: The new ABC series will initially debut in IMAX movie theaters before premiering on broadcast TV almost a month later. Television critics were given some additional logistical information on the plan this afternoon, though one key component was not made available — and is perhaps totally unknown even to executives.
Given the over-the-air — and thus, free — nature of network television, one reporter asked show producers how much the actual IMAX ticket will cost theater-goers. Is the plan to charge full IMAX movie theater ticket prices, or will these special circumstances call for a reduced rate?
“That’s a great question,” executive producer Jeph Loeb responded. “[I] have no idea how to answer it.”
“There’ll be footage that you can see on ABC that you won’t see in IMAX,” he instead offered. “And there will be things on IMAX that you’ll see that are shot on the IMAX…that you’ll be seeing on that screen.”
He called the tailor-made footage for the extra-big screen “simply extraordinary.”
Complicating matters, the IMAX version of “Inhumans” Episodes 1 and 2 has a runtime of 75 minutes, Loeb explained, whereas the ABC version will be 9 minutes longer than that. Again, THAT’S the free one.
The same TV critic asked Loeb who would know the answer to his burning question, since show producers apparently do not.
“The folks at IMAX would know the ticket price answer,” Loeb replied.
Unfortunately, those guys weren’t present at the Beverly Hilton-hosted Television Critics Association Summer Press Tour, so we never got an answer.