Walt Disney (DIS +2.26%) may be about to expand the Marvel TV universe, Fool contributor Tim Beyers says in the following video.
How so? ABC is developing a pilot based on Hayley Atwell's character from Captain America: The First Avenger. Titled Agent Carter, the program would build on a previously aired short available to buyers of the Iron Man 3 Blu-ray edition.
Interestingly, we've seen this sort of strategy before. Disney teased its other live-action Marvel TV property -- Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. -- in a one-shot titled Item 47, which came with premium DVD and Blu-ray editions of Marvel's The Avengers. The similarly styled Agent Carter received a warm reception at last summer's San Diego Comic-Con, Tim says.
Now Disney wants more. During the winter press tour for the Television Critics Association, ABC confirmed that it has hired Reaper creators Tara Butters and Michele Fazekas as showrunners. Network president Paul Lee also confirmed Atwell's involvement, and that a script is in hand. Good signs, all.
Tim says the big payoff for investors comes if ABC commits to a series order. Doing so would help Marvel Studios build out the World War II and Cold War era elements of its universe that play such a huge role in the mythology, especially April's Captain America: The Winter Soldier.
Do you agree? Do you want to see an Agent Carter TV pilot taken to series? Please watch the video to get Tim's full take and then leave a comment to let us know whether you would buy, sell, or short Disney stock at current prices.
