Brian K. Vaughan, who co-created the superhero team Runaways, praises Hulu’s upcoming adaptation. It has been almost 10 years since the Marvel Cinematic Universe launched with Jon Favreau’s Iron Man. Since then, more than a dozen movies have released in the shared universe, and the studio doesn’t plan on stopping anytime soon. In fact, those working toward its success have been hard at work at finding new ways — and new properties — in which to expand the shared universe.
It has been almost four years since Joss Whedon’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. premiered, which acted as the launch pad for the TV-side of the MCU. Since then, ABC has aired two seasons of Agent Carter and are in development on Inhumans, while its sister network, Freeform, is developing New Warriors and Cloak and Dagger. Aside from broadcast and cable television, Marvel also has deals with several streaming services, such as Netflix, which currently has five standalone shows (Daredevil, Jessica Jones, Luke Cage, Iron Fist, and The Punisher) and one crossover series (The Defenders). Hulu will be joining the fold next year with Runaways.
Josh Schwartz and Stephanie Savage created Runaways for Hulu, which is based on the comic book series and superhero team of the same name. The team was created by writer Brian K. Vaughan and artist Adrian Alphona, which made its debut in the Marvel Universe in 2003. Vaughan recently spoke with CBR about the upcoming series, in which he discussed his level of involvement as well as his thoughts on the project.
“I just did a little consulting early in the process, but I think the Runaways found the ideal ‘foster parents’ in Josh Schwartz and Stephanie Savage. They took a weird comic set in the Marvel Universe of 2002 and lovingly adapted it into a stylish drama that feels like contemporary Los Angeles. Love the cast, crew and especially the writers they assembled. And the pilot looks like an Adrian Alphona comic! I can’t wait to watch this first season unfold.”
Long before Marvel’s television division got involved with the project, Marvel Studios head honcho Kevin Feige was working with Vaughan to adapt the comic series onto the big screen. It had been in development since the inception of the MCU. The success of Whedon’s The Avengers, though, unwittingly caused the studio to shelve the adaptation until at least Phase 3. It wasn’t long before talks of retooling the script into a TV series came about.
Schwartz and Savage boarded the project last summer and are acting as showrunners on the series, which stars the likes of Rheny Feliz, Lyrica Okano, and Ariela Barer. Vaughan seems to indicate that he’s seen the pilot and that it looks like the series will be a proper adaptation of the comics. We’ll just have to wait and see for ourselves when the series premieres.
Runaways premieres on Hulu this winter.
