Runaways The Pride

Developmental hell wasn’t enough to keep the Runaways away from the Marvel Cinematic Universe. After a feature film starring Alex Wilder, Nico Minoru, Karolina Dean, Gert Yorkes, Chase Stein, and Molly Hayes was put on the shelf indefinitely around a decade ago, the project reemerged this past August as Hulu’s first Marvel series thanks to ‘Gossip Girl’ creators Josh Schwartz & Stephanie Savage. Last week, production began to ramp up as the House of Ideas announced that Rhenzy Feliz, Lyrica Okano, Virginia Gardner, Ariela Barer, Gregg Sulkin, and Allegra Acosta would be starring as the diverse group of teens that discover that their parents are part of an infamous supervillain organization. Now, it looks like the House of Ideas is ready to introduce us to the parents/evil collective known as The Pride.

Marvel.com revealed earlier this week that the highly anticipated young adult superhero drama has found it’s big bads. Hailing from acclaimed shows such as ‘The Wire’, ‘Alias’, ‘This Is Us’, ‘The People v. OJ Simpson: American Crime Story’, and ‘Buffy the Vampire Slayer’, the cast now contains what comic book writer and Runaways co-creator Brian K. Vaughn calls “multiple generations of incredible talent all in one story”. So without further ado, here are the latest additions to the cast:

  • Ryan Sands (‘Hat Hair’, ‘The Wire’) as Geoffrey Wilder – is a man defined by the grueling path he’s taken to achieve his self-made success. A hulking presence, Geoffrey can effortlessly shift from approachable father to intimidating strategist with his son Alex.
  • Angel Parker (‘The People v. OJ Simpson: American Crime Story’, ‘The Strain’) as Catherine Wilder – a successful lawyer, is deliberate and calculating in both her words and actions. But when it comes to her family, she’s fiercely loyal and a loving mother to her son Alex.
  • Brittany Ishibashi (‘This Is Us’, ‘Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows’) as Tina Minoru – a perfectionist “tiger mom”. In her professional life, she is a brilliant innovator and ruthless CEO. Emotionally, she is less confident, often shying away from difficult conversations with her daughter Nico and careful to avoid explicit displays of her feelings.
  • James Yaegashi (‘Breakfast at Tiffany’s’ on Broadway, ‘Madame Secretary’) as Robert Minoru – a gentle and brilliant beta, the Woz to his wife’s Jobs. Warm and feeling, Robert sometimes struggles with being married to a woman who so forcefully barricades her emotions while caring about Nico.
  • Brigid Brannagh (‘Army Wives’, ‘True Colors’) as Stacey Yorkes – an absent-minded and professorial bioengineer. Perpetually dawning Birkenstocks and a messy bun, Stacey utilizes a progressive approach to her parenting style to Gert.
  • Kevin Weisman (‘Hello Ladies’, ‘Alias’) as Dale Yorkes – a beardy, dad-core bioengineer. Incredibly science-minded, he has a deep love for his family but oftentimes falls short at knowing the right things to say to Gert.
  • Annie Wersching (‘Timeless’, ‘The Vampire Diaries’) as Leslie Dean – a complicated beauty, is a poised and skilled leader. Clear-minded, focused, and charismatic, Leslie draws in devoted allies and followers who are taken by her success and charm, particularly with her daughter Karolina.
  • Kip Pardue (‘Remember the Titans’, ‘Ray Donovan’) as Frank Dean – a former teen star who rode a short-lived movie career and is now teeming with insecurity. Floundering in his professional career as an actor, Frank is seeking to renew purpose in his life while being a father to Karolina.
  • James Marsters (‘Buffy the Vampire Slayer’, ‘Angel’) as Victor Stein – an engineering genius who may just save the word from itself. Electric cars, space travel; the military and NASA both look to him for answers. As a father to Chase, Victor has lofty expectations for his son, and when they aren’t met, his retribution can be fierce.
  • Ever Carradine (‘The Handmaids Tale’, ‘Goliath’) as Janet Stein – a perfect PTA mom. Harboring a brilliant mind of her own, she has made deep sacrifices for her husband’s world-changing career. Though she hides it for the well-being of her son Chase, Janet longs for more from her life.

Vaughn wasn’t kidding when he said that these were incredible talents. Their resumes certainly include a number of great projects, so they’re all more than capable of stepping into The Pride’s villainous shoes. But seeing James Marsters on this list is particularly exciting. While many may know him from his stints alongside Buffy Summers and her vampire love Angel on their respective shows, others will fondly look back on his short-lived appearances as Captain John Hart opposite John Barrowman’s Captain Jack Harkness on the early seasons of ‘Torchwood’. Either way, fans know how comfortable he is in genre programming, so it’s great to see him join the MCU.

What do you think about the collection of talent assembled to portray the villainous Pride in Hulu’s ‘Runaways’? Which characters are you most excited to see come to life on the popular streaming service’s corner of the MCU? Let us know what you think in the comments below.  

horizontal lineDespite being a “professional writer”, Ben likes run-on sentences far too much. For more of his attempts at being funny and the occasional insightful thought, follow him on Twitter and Instagram