The Avengers Forum

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Well, that answers it, finally. Remember when there were all those developments for a movie version of the Marvel comic Runaways? Peter Sollet was locked as the director, Drew Pearce was writing it, they’d even assembled some key members of the cast, and then… nothing. Nada. Zilch.

Since the quiet phase-out roughly coincided with the announcement of Marvel TV initiatives, I figured Runaways might have been reconceived as something for the small screen instead of the big one. However, Indiewire caught Pearce’s recent comments on a screenwriting panel wherein he explained that Runaways has actually put on ice for a year--along with other projects on Marvel's slate--while all the focus is put on the Avengers. And that shouldn’t be too surprising. You’d expect all the eggs to be put in that proverbial Easter basket.

Anyway, Pearce says Marvel’s happy with his script and the newly-revealed tidbit that he’s co-writing Iron Man 3 with Shane Black would seem to evidence that. Whenever it does get thawed and reevaluated along with the Dr. Strange, Ant-Man and Guardians of the Galaxy flicks that’re supposed to be in development, I do still think it'd be better served as a TV show. The comic’s about the children of a cabal of supervillains who decide to flip the usual teen rebellion thing by fighting for good. It’s something that plays enough like Buffy that Joss Whedon himself actually wrote a volume of it.

I still feel that Joss Whedon's run was the worst.

I agree that the premise of Runaways seems a bit better suited for a TV series on The CW or ABC Family (that sounds like an insult to the source material, but it's really not meant to be).  Though, with the limited budgets of television productions, especially ones that tend to run on those stations, I don't know if that kind of medium will be able a show where one of the main characters is a dinosaur.   
 
On another note, Marvel's current slate of planned film productions seems a bit strange to me.  Movies like The Avengers make total sense, since a lot of people who aren't big fans of comic books still know who Captain America, Thor, Iron Man and the Incredible Hulk are, and that's a pretty easy sell for mainstream audiences.  But when movies like Daredevil and Ghost Rider didn't even do gangbusters at the box office, are you going to try to convince me that even more obscure properties like Guardians of the Galaxy, a team of space-faring heroes that includes such prominent characters as an anthropomorphic raccoon and a giant talking tree, is a much more surefire sell to the average consumer?

Yeah, it makes sense to put this on hold so they can focus on The Avengers. But I'm glad to see Marvel digging deeper into their back catalog for new projects.

Maybe this will mean The Avengers will be really good. And I agree with @pat4327:, it's nice to see even lesser known properties getting the focus.

@FinalDasa: Right? Ant-Man movie sounds awesome!

I saw the auditions for this movie be posted... I want to audition for Chase Stein! :P

Still, as long as this movie gets made someday I am good! :)

Would they bother renaming the movie to avoid it being confused with the Joan Jett/Cherie Curie biopic "Runaways," or would they figure that not enough people saw that flick to make it worthwhile?

This is ridiculous. I mean, Runaways will be awesome regardless of the form it takes, but this should DEFINITELY become a tv project. So it's kinda crazy that Marvel/Disney is going ahead with stupid, unexciting sh** for their announced tv projects, and not something cool like this. What's the matter Disney? Got a few more shows about dumbass un-wed teenage mothers to pump out for ABC Family instead?

I bet the Dino will look terrible in CG.

@crusader8463 said:

I bet the Dino will look terrible in CG.

Lol, so with out current CGI technology we can transform cars into talking robots,  create giant blue aliens with human features etc ... but we can make a realistic dinosaur  XD 

It's pleasant to see that Marvel understands the gravity of an Avenger's film. I haven't been as excited to see a superhero film since The Dark Knight, and that turned out wonderfully.

@CherryBomb said:

@crusader8463 said:

I bet the Dino will look terrible in CG.

Lol, so with out current CGI technology we can transform cars into talking robots,  create giant blue aliens with human features etc ... but we can make a realistic dinosaur  XD 

I just think it's going to look silly and out of place when put next to all the real world stuff. It might be passable for now, but I don't think It will hold up over time. Won't know until it happens, but I just have that gut feeling about it.

@ahgunsillyo said:

I agree that the premise of Runaways seems a bit better suited for a TV series on The CW or ABC Family (that sounds like an insult to the source material, but it's really not meant to be).  Though, with the limited budgets of television productions, especially ones that tend to run on those stations, I don't know if that kind of medium will be able a show where one of the main characters is a dinosaur.  

I don't think it's an insult since both channels have had many shows that mix superpowers and the paranormal with teen angst.  If not for the budget problems associated with CGing a dinosaur, I'd say that either would be well qualified for the project.  Another option though might be to animate it overseas like the X-Men and Iron Man animes.  That would allow for more mature storytelling than standard Western cartoons.
 
I still can't believe they're considering an Ant-Man movie.  I wonder if DC is considering an Atom film, too.

This comic series had some sublime moments and some pretty bad runs, but I still enjoyed it until the end due to my connection with the characters. I think a Runaways movie could be great, but it really depends on a lot of factors.

If nothing else hopefully we can get a reboot of the comic or something down the line. I really enjoyed the west coast vibe of the Marvel U.

while it's an awesome comic series, part of me has to wonder if it's still wise to make it into a live-action movie. The other properties as of late (Iron Man, Spidey, X-Men, Fantastic Four, etc.) have had SOME exposure in other media beforehand. Even Blade (on the Spidey Animated Series). *shrugs* maybe it'll prove me wrong?  
 
Still, feel like it's a big risk, ya know?

Of all the Brian K. Vaughan comics to make into a film. Someone better tell me that Aaron Sorkin is making an Ex Machina movie or... I don't know what I'll actually do.

One of them is a dinosaur.  This is pleasing.