‘Runaways’ To Live In “Same World” as the Marvel Cinematic Universe
When it comes to Marvel’s expansive list of television shows, which are spread out across multiple broadcast channels and streaming services, it can be a little confusing to remember if these various superheroes and metahumans exist in the same world as one another. Couple this confusion with where things stand between the Marvel shows and its cinematic universe, and things can become almost ridiculously complicated.
Luckily, Marvel executives have been more forthright about the connections between its new and upcoming live-action works. And it looks like Runaways, the Hulu adaptation of the popular comic series by Brian K. Vaughan, will indeed have a clear connection with the larger Marvel universe.
Source: Hulu and Marvel Entertainment
During the Television Critics Association’s summer press tour, Marvel head of television Jeph Loeb stated that Runaways “lives in the same world” as all its other shows, such as Netflix’s The Defenders, ABC’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. and Fox’s The Gifted.
Since these shows also share continuity with the MCU, with many plot points developing in direct response to the films, Loeb is clearly suggesting that the Runaways will be influenced in some way by the MCU as well.
Of course, the extent of this connection has yet to be completely developed, as Loeb quickly pointed out to press:
“How and where it’s connected and what it’s going to be connected to remains to be seen. … It lives in a world of, if you’re a teenager … since it’s all connected through social media and its own way, would you be following Iron Man or somebody that was more your age?”
At the same time, Loeb stressed that Runaways wouldn’t spend significant time on well-known superhero cameos or their related adult issues. Instead, Marvel is now keen on exploring their fantastically crafted universe through the fresh, more grounded everyday realities of teenagers:
“The fact that they’ve found each other and are going through this mystery together is what they’re concerned about, not what Captain America is doing on a Friday night… What’s exciting to us is Runaways, Cloak and Dagger and New Warriors are all new things for us to be able to get into and discover young heroes.
A lot of the Marvel heroes, as we know, are grown adults that have had something happen to them that irrevocably changed their life… It’s exciting to us to be able to explore the world of the hero and how it affects someone who is trying to figure out who they are as opposed to already knows who they are and now their whole life has to take a left. That’s the journey we’re going on with these kinds of characters.”
And even though all the Marvel shows occur in the same universe, this doesn’t mean that the entertainment giant plans to have its television characters hop into one another’s shows (a la DC and the CW). Easter eggs and brief references may occur, of course, but right now Loeb doesn’t think that “the Punisher is going to show up on Freeform.”
What do you think about Marvel’s commitment to connecting its shows and movies? Does this insistence make sense to you, or would you prefer to see Marvel shows that exist in their own realities? Let us know your thoughts in the comments!
Marvel’s Runaways is set to premiere on Hulu on November 21, 2017.
Source: Hollywood Reporter
Only makes sense…if only Faux (fox) would get off the boo boo and join in on these dope reindeer games all the shows and characters could be one big fam like in the books…how dope would it be to see Molly punch Wolvie like in the books for example…