ABC might have beaten its corporate sibling, Freeform, to the punch when it comes to comic-book adaptations, but the revamped network is making up for lost time by ordering another Marvel property to series. With its Cloak And Dagger show now ready and rarin’ to go, Freeform has given a straight-to-series order to Marvel’s New Warriors, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
In the comics, the New Warriors are basically younger, hipper counterparts to the Avengers, and they’ve appeared in multiple Marvel titles in addition to their own miniseries. Led by Night Thrasher, the teen-skewing team includes Firestar, Marvel Boy, Nova, Speedball, and Namorita. They’re not nearly as cohesive or polished a team as the Avengers, but that’s half the fun. And for the TV series, which comes from Cougar Town co-creator Kevin Biegel, the New Warriors will be joined by Squirrel Girl. It’s not a movie, but maybe someone should let Anna Kendrick know?
In addition to writing the script, Biegel will executive produce New Warriors with Marvel TV boss Jeph Loeb and Jim Chory. The 30-minute live-action comedy will kick off in 2018 along with Cloak And Dagger. There’s no word yet on casting, but since Shannon Purser keeps popping up in various shows, maybe she’ll try to edge out Kendrick for the role of Squirrel Girl.
Freeform executive Karey Burke tells THR there was a race to get the popular Squirrel Girl on TV somehow, and teaming her up with the New Warriors once more—the animated Ultimate Spider-Man previously envisioned her as part of the group—make the show an especially good fit for the network. But, despite the fact that it has two Marvel-based shows in development at the same time, Freeform has no real plans for any overlap yet. You can read the rest of the interview here.