When it comes to discussing the various Marvel Television projects that fans would love to see either rebooted, reinvented or reabsorbed into the cinematic universe’s official canon, several shows come up a lot more often than others.
Daredevil, Jessica Jones, The Punisher, Agent Carter and Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. are the top topics of conversation if social media is any indication, which has left a much larger number of episodic efforts out in the cold.
You’d find a fair few Luke Cage supporters out there in the ether, but campaigns demanding the resurrections of Iron Fist, Cloak & Dagger, Inhumans, Helstrom and Runaways are almost impossible to stumble upon unless you look really hard.
Runaways managed to run for three seasons and 33 episodes between November 2017 and December 2019 before the plug was pulled, and during a recent appearance on Michael Rosenbaum’s Inside of You podcast, star Greg Sulkin explained why he thought the series was canned.
“I think streaming-wise, it’s financially cheaper [to do three seasons]. They have to renegotiate with everybody after the third season. He [Chase Stein] was a really fun character to play, and I learned a lot on the visual effects side of things. They spent a fortune on it, and it’s always been a dream of mine to shoot at Paramount. I remember when my mom and I visited, having that dream and then to get the keycode and the pass that you use to wave at the security guard and enter.”
The low-level Marvel adventure drew decent enough reviews from critics and cultivated a sizeable fanbase, but it was never anywhere near the forefront of the pop culture conversation. Once Kevin Feige became the company’s chief creative officer and set about wiping the slate clean, Runaways never stood a chance.