ABC’s new comic book-inspired series Marvel’s Inhumans is set to premiere on September 29, 2017, but first it will have a special limited run of two episodes in IMAX theaters beginning on September 1st. The IMAX episodes will be versions of the series’ first two episodes, with additional material included when the show makes its debut on ABC.
Executive produced by Scott Buck, Jeph Loeb, and Jim Chory, the comic book series’ characters are brought to life by Anson Mount as Black Bolt, Iwan Rheon as Maximus, Serinda Swan as Medusa, Eme Ikwuakor as Gorgon, Isabelle Cornish as Crystal, and Ken Leung as Karnak. Rheon, best known for playing the evil Ramsay Bolton in Game of Thrones, and Isabelle Cornish were paired up for roundtable interviews at the 2017 San Diego Comic Con to discuss their roles in ABC’s new fall series.
You’ve played villains before. Is Maximus a villain?
Iwan Rheon: “It depends on who’s really looking at it. If you listen to the ideas he has and the sort of political ideology that he’s proposing, you might agree with him. I don’t think he’s evil in any way at all. He feels that he’s part of a very archaic society with a caste system that is wrong. The people at the bottom live a terrible life digging in mines so that the Royal family can live in luxury. So, I think if you wrote it down, politically if you read that you’d probably agree with him.”
So he’s a bit of a revolutionary?
Iwan Rheon: “He is, yeah. He’s a forward-thinking guy and he sees that there’s great danger emerging that the humans are going to find him. He has a very opposing opinion to what Black Bolt has on how to move forward, which is where you get great conflict between the two brothers at the heart of the story.”
What’s the technical work of bringing your powers to life?
Isabelle Cornish: “We used a lot of CGI which means we have a lot of creativity. Lockjaw is a big part of my character; Crystal, my character, is the keeper of Lockjaw. So he’s invisible when we shoot and then he’ll be CGI’ed in, and then all of my powers as well are all CGI.”
How did you become part of Inhumans?
Isabelle Cornish: “It was all very secretive at first. We knew we were auditioning for a Marvel shoot, and it was all really secretive. So, I just really loved my character. I loved my audition scene. I just felt a very strong connection with her. I wasn’t told until after my audition what character she was in the comic books. It was all very secretive. But it was just feeling the connection and feeling the Marvel family, and getting to talk to Jeph Loeb and talk to Scott (Buck). I’m just really excited to be a part of the show.”
Iwan Rheon: “For me it was very much about Jeph Loeb’s enthusiasm. He’s a very clever man. I was a little unsure about playing the role because I heard ‘Maximus’ and I thought I’ll check out this guy. ‘Oh, here we go, it’s another one of these.’ And I thought, ‘Oh, I’m just going to be playing the same role again.’ But the way that he described the character it was very much this young charismatic politician that wanted to change things. That felt very different to me. He managed to convince me and throughout the series he did deliver his promise and that’s exactly what I think Maximus has become. We wanted to give him a chance to grow and have an arc, a character arc. So, yeah, I just had to be involved.”
What’s it like participating in Comic Con as part of a Marvel project?
Isabelle Cornish: “Really exciting for me because it’s not only my first time being a part of the Marvel universe but for me being an Australian and getting to work overseas in America on a show like this. And just being able to play a character who is from the comic books but to bring our show to life in a unique way. I’m really excited for fans to see what we’ve done with the show, the different aspect that we bring to it.”
Iwan Rheon: “We tend to spend a lot of time in elevators and back corridors of various hotels at Comic Cons. I haven’t really had a chance to walk the floor and stuff. It should be cool. We did a little bit today. We got to do a signing and meet the fans and stuff. It’s cool. I came here last year with a different show – I don’t think anyone’s heard about that. (Laughing) I think it’s gone now. They cancelled it. But this is a very different experience because we’re selling a brand new show. It’s great because these comic books and the stories that come out of them are exactly what Comic Con is all about. So to be able to bring a brand new show that the fans have never seen these characters brought to life in live-action, it’s really exciting. We just hope that the fans really enjoy it.”
Watch the full Iwan Rheon and Isabelle Cornish Inhumans interview:
(Interview by Fred Topel. Article by Rebecca Murray.)
