Marvel's The Runaways

[Ipodman]

Yes! Finally getting off the ground! And by Marvel Studios at that!
Hope they do Young Avengers soon....

 

[Rac]

Nick and Nora's Infinite Playlist director Peter Sollett is negotiating to direct

Well, eh...

 

[Philly Phanboy]

Hard to get excited about the prospect of either of these guys directing.

Sollett has done pretentious art house stuff and lately an unfunny comedy, while Whedon's run when he had the comic was absolutely terrible. Why wouldn't they try to get Sam Raimi?

 

[DocHoliday]

Let Brian L Vaughn write and Joss Whedon direct. I hated Nick and Norah. I think this is far more Whedon's sensibilities than The Avengers.

 

[topdog1]

If Marvel ties up a talent like Joss Whedon on this tweener kiddie crap then shame on them. Also, they've got great characters like Iron Fist, Dr. Strange and Black Panther sitting on the shelf waiting while they develop this marginal kid stuff??? First the "Spider-Child" reboot and now this? Marvel is slipping and, even though this was planned before Disney, I'm sure fans will start looking cross-eyed at them soon.

 

[Sawyer]

Hard to get excited about the prospect of either of these guys directing.

Sollett has done pretentious art house stuff and lately an unfunny comedy, while Whedon's run when he had the comic was absolutely terrible. Why wouldn't they try to get Sam Raimi?

That hardly matters if he's going to direct. If he were to direct, it's not like he'll be basing the film off his storyline...

 

[Sawyer]

If Marvel ties up a talent like Joss Whedon on this tweener kiddie crap then shame on them. Also, they've got great characters like Iron Fist, Dr. Strange and Black Panther sitting on the shelf waiting while they develop this marginal kid stuff??? First the "Spider-Child" reboot and now this? Marvel is slipping and, even though this was planned before Disney, I'm sure fans will start looking cross-eyed at them soon.

I take it you've never read the series....

 

[Jennifer Walters]

I take it you've never read the series....

Obviously he hasn't.

 

[Philly Phanboy]

That hardly matters if he's going to direct. If he were to direct, it's not like he'll be basing the film off his storyline...

Need I bring up Singer directing Superman Returns? Singer was hired for Supes on the success of the X-Men movies and knew next to nothing about Superman. Superman Returns showed his lack of understanding what makes for a good Superman movie.

If you compare BLV's Runaways and the slop Joss put out you could make a strong argument that Joss doesn't seem to "get" the characters. That is what makes me leery about how he'd handle the movie

 

[GL1]

I enjoyed Nick and Norah, and did anyone dislike it for the directing? Or for the story? If so, I don't think disliking Nick and Norah is any indication on how you'll like the director on Runaways.

Speaking of his directing, actually, there are a few scenes that I thought were well handled, specifically when the girl gets her 'big O,' I thought was very artful, but there were other cool moments, such as when the drunk girl in the bathroom, especially when she comes out after they just missed her. The focus on the couple's hands in the 'climactic' scene also was very good to me. The only thing I think was badly done, as a director, was when the couple were leaving the Fluffy concert, it wasn't clear to me that they were leaving, exactly. Character-wise, he knows how to work with late-teens, at the very least, and he knows how to handle the aloof kid, the hipster chick, the jealous bia, the self-interested artist, gay friendships, the party girl, and a couple others. Some of those characters are directly analogous to the Runaways. The female lead specifically is just a softer more musical Gert. Obviously if you haven't seen the film, none of this means anything, beyond that the director does have some talent for highlighting character interactions.

It also makes me wonder if Hollywood sees Runaways as a 'hipster' type vibe, which would be interesting to say the least, despite the preponderance of band references in the Alex-era (lol, era), I don't think Alex, Molly or even Nico really fit into that type of... subcultural framework. At least in my opinion.

Casting? I always hate the casting for movies based on teens, because they always cast near-30 year olds who barely look passing in the first season/movie, much less subsequently. Chloe Moretz, at 13 being cast for an 11 year old is case in point, especially for a character who's age and innocence is a big part of the character. The Official Ages were Chase: 17, Alex, Nico, Karolina: 16, Gert: 14, Molly: 11.

If it were me?

Gertrude Yorkes - Abigail Breslin (I defy you to choose a better actress for this role)
Karolina Dean - Taylor Momsen (Someone suggested her, I youtubed her, she's great: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uMk7pe8FNOA)
Molly Hayes - An Unknown, the next Dakota Fanning
Chase Stein - Josh Hutcherson (RV, Zathura)
Alex Wilder - Tyler James Williams (Everybody Hates Chris)
Nico Minoru - An Unknown

If they can get unknowns of the right age that work, go for that, but there are definitely known actors that can do the job right.

You know what would be super cool though? Getting genre/character actors as the parents as a nod to the concepts represented?

The Wilders are a crime family, so get crime drama actors Chi McBride and Regina King.
The Steins are mad scientists, so get sci fi actors Brent Spiner and Carrie Fisher
The Yorkes are Time Travellers, so get Quantum Leap's Scott Bakula and Sarah Connor's Lena Headey
The Minorus are wizards, so get wuxia actors Chow Yun Fat and Michelle Yeoh
The Deans are Aliens, so get alien actors Dean Cain (Superman) and Morena Baccarin (V)
The Hayes are psionic Mutants, so get telepaths Greg Grunberg and Famke Janssen

That would make me happy, casting nods similar to those.

That's all, thanks for reading.

tl;dr version - Don't cast 25 year olds as teens!

 

[Chewy]

Several surprise hires in the Marvel universe today. First, Fox taps James McAvoy to play the young Professor Xavier in the Matthew Vaughn-directed X-Men: First Class. Now, Marvel Studios has picked a writer to draft Runaways, the live action film based on the cult favorite comic book (created by Lost writer Brian K. Vaughan) about the children of supervillains who try to use their evil powers for heroic purposes.

The job has gone to Drew Pearce. Considering the number of scribes who wanted the job, Pearce is a relative unknown but seems a good match for the subject matter when you consider his previous superhero work. Pearce is a British writer who created No Heroics, a humorous UK television series about a bar that's a hangout for superheros, who aren't allowed to use their powers while knocking back pints. Pearce will draft Runaways for Pete Sollett, the Nick and Nora’s Infinite Playlist director who was set in April to direct. His deal's being made by WME, and here's a peek at Pearce's No Heroics:

SOURCE

 

[Jennifer Walters]

The Hype's report about this that says 20th Century Fox hired this guy....I thought Runaways was at Marvel Studios?

 

[Squidboy]

I'm really excited about this movie - I read Vaughn's run on the book and want to get my hands on the rest of it, but have yet to do so. The one thing that's on my mind is that with this book, where do you think the lines will be drawn as far as how closely to adapt it, and what needs to be changed completely? I mean, Victor will probably need to be altered heavily if he isn't introduced by the time Ultron is created, and many of the references to the Avengers might not make sense in the greater scope of the universe, but are we going to see something like V for Vendetta or Watchmen? Meaning, will the movie take the idea and characters and run with them in a different direction, or take as much as they can with the source material, and just change up what doesn't work to fit the needs of the film?

 

[Specter313]

Victor likely wouldn't show up until a second or third film, if the first does well enough to warrant those, and there's enough to draw from before he shows up that he could be kept off until a third film. That would likely leave enough time for them to include Ultron in an Avengers film before that. As far as how much they draw from the books, well, last I'd seen, Vaughn would be heavily involved in this film, so I'm sure he'll help keep as much from the books in as necessary and not take things too far from the source.

 

[Specter313]

This time last year, Marvel’s Runaways was on the fast track, steaming toward a planned January 2011 start date that likely would’ve made the adaptation of the Brian K. Vaughan-Adrian Alphona comic the studio’s follow-up to The Avengers. But in late October, Marvel rather abruptly and mysteriously pulled on the brakes on the project, reportedly because it “simply [had] too much going on at the moment.”

“Too much,” it turns out, was simply The Avengers. And with production well under way on Joss Whedon’s ensemble adventure, Runaways is just waiting for a green light.

The news comes from Runaways screenwriter Drew Pearce — he’s since been tapped for Marvel’s Iron Man 3 and Paramount’s The Mighty — who appeared on a panel over the weekend at Empire Big Screen 2011 in London.

“Basically, The Avengers came along and everything else at Marvel got put on hold for a year. But the script is there, we’re good go,” The Playlist quotes Pearce as saying. “It’s kind of like [being] at the airport when you’re waiting for your slot to take off with Marvel, and we’re hoping we get a slot next year. Fingers crossed. They’re very happy with it, so hopefully it happens.”

As we previously noted, Runaways could be a candidate for one of the two 2014 dates Disney staked out last week — although Ant-Man and Doctor Strange are also likely contenders.

Debuting in 2003, Runaways centers on six kids who discover their parents are super-villains known as the Pride. Fleeing from their homes, the kids band together to learn about their inherited powers, defeat the Pride and make up for the evil committed by their parents.

http://spinoff.comicbookresources.c...live-waiting-for-go-ahead-following-avengers/

 

[DarkSovereignty]

well at least it didn't get dropped altogether, just postponed.

 

[spideyboy_1111]

very excited about this, though i'm assuming anyone they casted, will probably be replaced. Hopefully we get relatively unknown kids, and big stars out of there parents.
But, this would be a great venture for marvel to start doing 3 films a year... starting with 2013

 

[psylockolussus]

Not looking forward to this.

 

[Lord]

Not looking forward to this.

Then don't post here, come on, from your other posts i tought you were more reasonable, i never read the comics but they actually seem very interesting

 

[spideyboy_1111]

Not looking forward to this.

then don't see it

 

[Project862006]

just started reading and i am hooked already some casting suggestions already!!

Gertrude - Mae Whitman(Scott Pilgrim)

Alex - Donald Glover(Community)

Nico - Ellen Wong(Scott Pilgrim)

Chase - Lucas Till(X Men First Class)

Karolina - Brie Larson(Rampart)

Molly - ??? - Unknown possibly

 

[spideyboy_1111]

sigh... i miss when this movie was getting updates

great casting though

 

[Project862006]

OK i am on vol.2 now great series so far but am i the only one that thinks this works best as a tv show than a movie

not sure if it is cinematic enough for a summer block buster

and just the 1st vol. alone could fit a 1 hour episode

 

[DrCosmic]

I really don't think its a blockbuster either, maybe a small fall film or something.

That's a great cast. I would sub out Donald Glover due to his age. Put in someone like Tyler James Williams or someone.

 

[eddy]

Man I wish this film had got made. I was just thinking with the Quicksilver situation, if they ever did make this film would they not mention that Molly is a mutant? Also a younger Chloe Moretz would've been my choice for Molly.