Marvel already commands a multitude of shows on TV and Netflix, between Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., Daredevil, Jessica Jones, and the upcoming Luke Cage, Iron Fist, and Defenders miniseries. Now a fan favorite is on its way to Hulu.
Deadline is reporting that Hulu has ordered a TV drama adaptation of Runaways, the beloved comic series created by Brian K. Vaughan (who currently writes Saga) and Adrian Alphona in 2003. Talks for a Runaways adaptation have been in the works for a year following a series of conversations with Gossip Girl creators Josh Schwartz—who also created The O.C.—and Stephanie Savage, who will serve as showrunners. Schwartz and Savage will make a pilot and produce a number of scripts with the goal of being greenlit for a full season.
“We’ve known the Runaways’ story would make great television,” Jeph Loeb, EP and Head of Marvel Television, said, “and being lucky enough to have Josh and Stephanie—who have time and again created shows that speak so genuinely to this exact audience—write and produce the series is nothing short of remarkable.”
“I’m a long-time fan of Runaways and couldn’t be more excited to bring Brian and Adrian’s characters to life,” Schwartz added.
Unlike Marvel’s other series, Runaways’s protagonists are younger. The series focuses on a group of diverse teenagers who can barely stand one another but are forced to come together after discovering their parents are part of an evil organization. They steal their parents’ weapons, learn that they’ve inherited their powers—one character has a telepathic link with a genetically engineered dinosaur—and band together to defeat them.
While the comic has become a fan favorite, it was initially canceled in 2004 after its 18th issue. Marvel later revived it due to popular demand. And with the rise of comic book television adaptations, fans have been asking Marvel to adapt it for years. The kind of inclusivity written into Runaways is something Marvel fans have also wanted to see on the screen for a long time.
Information is scarce, but an order is enough for people to get excited about the possibility of a series. Let the fan casting begin!
H/T Deadline
