The latest character posters for ABC and Marvel’s Inhumans event series seem to be changing the tone. Indeed, selling this show has been a tricky task so far, with the promo materials struggling to get across a mythos that includes military coups and giant teleporting dogs, among other things.

The series, which stars Anson Mount as the super-powered monarch Black Bolt (whose voice can level cities) and Serinda Swan as his wife Medusa (who has prehensile hair and telepathy), sees the Inhuman royal family ousted from their home on the moon by Black Bolt’s scheming brother Maximus (played by Game of Thrones’ Ramsay Bolton actor, Iwan Rheon).

This pile of posters certainly seems to be playing up the throne-related drama side of things, with lots of serious shots of people in nice outfits glowering down the camera lens. Alongside Mount, Swan, and Rheon, you’ll also see Eme Ikwuakor as Gorgon, Isabelle Cornish as Crystal, Ken Leung as Karnak, Sonya Balmores as Auran, Mike Moh as Triton and Ellen Woglom as a character named Louise:

[vn_gallery name=“Inhumans Character Posters” id=“1035523”]

That image of Woglom, clad in a blue shirt and some glasses, certainly seems to give off a ‘Felicity Smoak from Arrow’ vibe. Perhaps Louise is a human character that will offer tech support to the outcast Inhumans royals, during their time on Earth. Or maybe this picture is a bit of a curveball, and she’s actually got a cool power of her own that we don’t know about yet. Only time will tell.

It’s not just the confusing blend of superpowers and coups that the Inhumans event series needs to try and explain. There’s also the fact that shorter versions of the season premiere will be screened in IMAX theaters, and the small matter of differentiating the characters in the show from the Inhumans that have been showing up in Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D. for years. (Inhumans showrunner Scott Buck has been referring to S.H.I.E.L.D.’s Inhumans as ‘nuhumans’.)

To find an audience outside of Marvel’s hardcore fan base won’t be easy for Inhumans. The bad buzz around the trailers, the warring tones and the fact it has two premiere dates certainly won’t help, but the day could yet be saved if glowing reviews and positive word of mouth come out of the early IMAX screenings.

Inhumans premieres in IMAX theaters on September 1, before arriving on ABC on September 29.

Source: ABC