Marvel's Runaways Compared to The O.C.

Screen Rant

Hulu's Runaways Is 'The O.C. of the Marvel Universe'

By Matthew Erao

Published Jul 27, 2017

Hulu's upcoming Runaways adaptation sees Josh Schwartz channelling his hit FOX series The O.C. for the new Marvel superhero show.

Hulu's new Marvel series Runaways will focus on the trials of kids grappling with their lives, their powers, and their evil parents. Despite the fact that Runaways is set to premiere this November on Hulu, we haven't learned a lot about the comic book adaptation. Thanks to the first cast photo, we know the general look of the characters will be done justice. Of course, one glaring omission from the image is the velociraptor Old Lace from the comics. She's the companion of Runaway Gertrude, but there's been no indication yet if she'll appear on the series.

On top of a potential lack of dinosaurs, we'll also likely see some changes to the powers of the main characters and their parents in The Pride. We've already heard about some of the personality changes we'll see, but the first teaser proves the show will be fairly faithful to the themes and tone of the comics. Hopefully, promotion for Runaways will kick into high gear soon -- the teaser hasn't even been officially released after all these months. Until then, more information about the show has come to life thanks to the TCA.

While attending the Television Critics Association annual gathering, entertainment journalists Aaron Pruner and Danielle Turchiano were on hand for a presentation on Runaways. While nothing concrete was revealed, the themes that the show will be exploring were touched on. Marvel TV head Jeph Loeb even compared it to another show, the mid-aughts young adult drama The O.C.

Mischa Barton and Ben Mckenzie in The OC

Blending a teen-focused narrative with the hallmarks of a soap, The O.C. was a hit drama during its run. It's also the brainchild of Josh Schwartz, who will be the co-showrunner of Runaways. Given the success of his previous show, it's easy to see how the beats of The O.C. could be applied to Runaways.

"We didn't view it as a superhero show. We viewed it as a coming-of-age drama, family show inside Marvel."

The presentation also made clear that the themes of family and figuring out who you are would be present in the show. The twist, of course, being that the heroes of Runaways must deal with the revelation that their parents are hiding secrets. So while it's said the kids won't like each other at first, they'll be forced to band together. All in all, Schwartz and Loeb are hoping the approach will bring in a new crowd.

Meanwhile, Loeb said that while they'd be honoring the source material, the powers of some characters will be scaled back a bit. Likely, this is referring to characters like Nico and Karolina. The former has vast magical abilities thanks to the Staff of One (previously seen in the final battle in Doctor Strange). Karolina, meanwhile, is an alien with light manipulation powers who flies around trailing a rainbow. Hopefully, some version of both Nico's and Karolina's powers will be brought to life, but its makes sense for the show to tone things down to keep things grounded (and under budget).

With Runaways right around the corner, we should know more about the series soon.