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The directors behind Hulu’s Hit-Monkey animated series say Marvel vetoed the inclusion of a major Daredevil villain.
Marvel’s Hit-Monkey nearly had the simian assassin facing off against one of his original comic book foes.
For the upcoming Hit-Monkey series on Hulu, series creators Will Speck and Josh Gordon looked to the character’s past for ideas on who he could face off against. Unfortunately, their attempt to bring in the iconic Daredevil villain Bullseye for an appearance was blocked by Marvel. As revealed in a conversation with Murphy’s Multiverse, the decision proved to be beneficial to their creative process, as it provided Hit-Monkey with a thrilling alternative.
The directing duo explained that losing Bullseye opened the door for them to bring Lady Bullseye to animation for the first time. Speaking on the experience, they said, “Bullseye was in the original issues of Hit-Monkey and that was who we originally thought we would use but for various reasons, we couldn’t. But Marvel offered us Lady Bullseye instead and we thought, ‘Wow. That’s so much more interesting since she’s a character we haven’t seen much of yet.'”
Created by Marv Wolfman and John Romita Sr., the original Bullseye has been adapted into live-action on two previous occasions, having been portrayed in the 2003 Daredevil film by Colin Farrell and in the third season of the Netflix series Marvel’s Daredevil by Wilson Bethel.
Hit-Monkey, meanwhile, was created by Daniel Way and Dalibor Talajić in an eponymous Marvel one-shot in 2010 before swinging into Deadpool for a team-up that also featured Spider-Man. The character was loosely inspired by the “hitman monkey” meme, which captured the joyless expression of a Japanese macaque drowning a man. The character appeared sporadically through the years in books like Old Man Logan and Howling Commandos of S.H.I.E.L.D., but proved to be popular enough amongst fans to warrant multiple action figures, shirts and gaming miniatures.
In 2019, Marvel announced that Hit-Monkey would be getting his own animated series on Hulu, alongside M.O.D.O.K., Howard the Duck and Marvel’s Tigra & Dazzler Show. Collectively, the four shows would connect into an Offenders cartoon, similar to the structure of the Netflix shows that led to The Defenders. However, these ambitions were squashed shortly after when it was came to light that both Howard the Duck and Marvel’s Tigra & Dazzler Show had been canceled. Marvel abandoned The Offenders, despite plans from Speck and Gordon.
Ultimately, the only shows that made the cut were Hit-Monkey and M.O.D.O.K., the latter of which debuted earlier this year. And though the cliffhanger ending of M.O.D.O.K.‘s first season teased plans for more content down the road, Hit-Monkey is currently slated to be the last collaboration between Marvel and Hulu. Marvel’s change in their schedule reflects a shift in creative directions, as projects like Howard the Duck are reimagined under Marvel Studios. Fans who are interested in the animated adventures of the simian assassin can watch all ten episodes of Hit-Monkey when it debuts on Nov. 17.
Source: Murphy’s Multiverse
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