While it has had a lot of success with both cinematic and small screen versions of its various comic book characters, there are still a few that Marvel's found tough to crack. It might finally have found a path for Runaways, which is now taking aim at US streaming service Hulu.
Runaways in comic-book form was created by writer Brian K. Vaughn (the genius behind Y: The Last Man) and artist Adrian Alphona, while Joss Whedon also wrote a couple of story arcs. It's about a group of teenagers shocked to discover that their parents are all criminals and supervillains who hold a big meeting every year under the guise of a charity event. Stealing weapons, the group of six – who all have abilities inherited from their evil elders – strike out to battle their parents' misdemeanors and any other trouble that crops up. Oh, and they have a dinosaur.
This is one that the company has tried to bring to the big screen for a while, with Iron Man 3 co-writer Drew Pearce involved in at least a couple of drafts. Now, though, Josh Schwartz and Stephanie Savage, veterans of creating shows such as The O.C., Chuck and Gossip Girl, are aboard to run the potential series. "We've known the Runaways' story would make great television," said says Marvel TV boss Jeph Loeb, "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."
How UK audiences might get to see it is still up in the air for now; though given Amazon Prime's history with Hulu titles such as Jason Reitman-produced drama Casual, there's every chance the company could pick this one up too.