cloak & dagger

One of the most anticipated upcoming Marvel TV series is ‘Cloak & Dagger,’ a story (adapted from the comics) about Tandy and Tyrone, two teenagers who gain superpowers and begin a romantic relationship together.  The characters were first introduced as adults in the Spider-Man comics in the 1980s, and have long been considered one of the more unique pairings in the Marvel Universe.

The televised version is coming from the Freeform network, formerly known as ABC Family, and as mentioned previously, the characters will have more of a “teeny-bopper” feel to them, which naturally is giving some fans pause.  In a recent interview, the show’s creative team insists the show still retains the “classic” feel of many of the best Cloak & Dagger stories.  Showrunner Joe Pokaski said their challenge directly revolves around being faithful to the two main characters:

“When [Jeph Loeb] and I started talking about it, when we started talking with Freeform, I think the two most important things were Tandy and Tyrone. And we wanted to make sure we understood them, first and foremost.

 

“The most important thing was to tell the story of a young woman who gets these powers, who does the wrong thing sometimes and slowly finds herself a hero. And the story of a young black man who has a harder climb than Peter Parker, that has a harder climb than Tony Stark, and yet has to overcome and protect everybody else.”

The director of the show’s pilot episode, Gina Prince-Blythewood, also mentioned that the story will likely resonate with families – much as it did with hers:

“I have two boys who watch everything and a couple years ago, my youngest son said, ‘How come I never get to see superheroes who look like me?’ And that just stayed with me and here’s an opportunity where I got to tell his story and then also, as a woman, to be able to tell a young woman’s story who’s a hero as well. It just seemed like a perfect opportunity.”

Marvel TV exec Jeph Loeb also chimed in with what makes these two characters, along with many Marvel characters, so great:

“A Marvel hero always begins with the person, not the power. We’re not really interested in the cape or the cowl or, in this case, the cloak. I mean, we’ve got to get that right. That’s absolutely important, but it’s more important that you care about Tyrone and that you care about Tandy and then the rest follows.”

Fans only have to wait a few more months before they get their first look at this iconic Marvel Comics duo on the small screen.

‘Cloak & Dagger’ will premiere on the Freeform TV network on June 7, 2018.