In an announcement that's sure to thrill fans all over the world, Marvel has just revealed that the long-rumored New Warriors series is officially a go. Freeform has officially commissioned ten 30-minute episodes, and the series is set to air in 2018. This marks the second Marvel show to be produced for Freeform (who have just commissioned a similar 10-episode series of Cloak and Dagger). In a fantastic twist, Marvel's also revealed that the series will star none other than Squirrel Girl.
Here's What We Know!
The Freeform channel is geared towards young adults, and that definitely sounds to be the market Marvel's aiming for with New Warriors. In a press-release, #Marvel announced:
""Marvel’s New Warriors" is about six young people with powers living and working together. With powers and abilities on the opposite end of the spectrum of The Avengers, the New Warriors want to make a difference in the world… Even if the world isn’t ready. Not quite super, not yet heroes, "Marvel’s New Warriors" is about that time in your life when you first enter adulthood and feel like you can do everything and nothing at once — except in this world, bad guys can be as terrifying as bad dates."
It seems the cast has been switched up a bit, though, with the addition of the much-loved Squirrel Girl. Marvel add:
"The series will feature fan-favorite "Squirrel Girl" (Doreen Green) as a totally empowering fan girl—tough, optimistic and a natural leader. Doreen is confident and has the powers of a squirrel… She’s acrobatic, can fight and talk to other squirrels. Her most important trait is that she has faith in people and teaches them to believe in themselves."
According to ComicBook.com, Kevin Biegel (Cougar Town, Scrubs) is nearing a deal to write the scripts and act as showrunner.
Created by Will Murray and the legendary Steve Ditko back in the '90s, Squirrel Girl, a.k.a. Doreen Green, was intended to be something of an antidote to the grim-and-gritty superheroics that were all the rage back then. She remained a background character for decades, but in the last decade her profile has been upped considerably. Finally, in 2014, Marvel launched the first series of Unbeatable Squirrel Girl; this being Marvel, it's already on its second series.
Squirrel Girl's popularity is rooted in the earnest wackiness of her title, with writers Ryan North and Chip Zdarsky giving her a wonderfully upbeat style and a strong supporting cast. In the tradition of Peter Parker, Doreen Green has settled down as a college student to get education and real-life experience. She keeps her secret identity by stuffing her tail down her pants, giving her what she calls "a conspicuously large and conspicuously awesome butt".
At a time when fans take their superheroes seriously, she's a breath of fresh air; one minute she can be time-traveling in pursuit of Doctor Doom, the next she can be talking Galactus into trying to eat nuts instead of planets. The book sells particularly well through Marvel's deal with Scholastic, meaning it tends to skip comic book shops and go straight out to teenagers.
What's more, actors are already queuing up to play the role. Both Anna Kendrick (The Accountant) and Shannon Purser (Stranger Things) have let it be known that they'd love to play the part of Squirrel Girl.
There's only one way to resolve this issue:
ACORN FIGHT!
What About the Rest of the 'New Warriors'?
Marvel's press release deliberately avoids naming any other characters, so fans are sure to be eagerly speculating. Unfortunately, we have no way of really knowing any potential rights issues behind some of the team-members; take the telekinetic Justice, for example, or the pyrokinetic Firestar. Those two are technically mutants, so their rights may actually lie with Fox. Frankly, I wouldn't be surprised if a couple of team-members are lifted from Squirrel Girl's supporting cast in her current run.
One character does seem to be a dead cert is Speedball. An amusing third-tier hero who can generate kinetic energy-bubbles, he's actually Squirrel Girl's long-term love-interest. Considering Speedball is pretty much the iconic member of the team, I'll be really surprised if he doesn't make the cut.
So there you have it, Marvel fans; another Marvel TV series is on the way! The last few years have seen Marvel expand their relationship with Netflix, creating a dark and gritty corner of the MCU; now, with Cloak and Dagger and New Warriors, they're clearly aiming for a very different demographic. Personally, I couldn't be more excited; the wider the MCU becomes, the happier I am!
(Sources: ComicBook.com, Marvel)
About the Creator
Tom Bacon
A prolific writer and film fan, Tom has a deep love of the superhero genre.
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