Let's Talk About: Marvel's Cloak & Dagger
Released just today was the very first trailer for Marvel's Cloak & Dagger, a new series set to air on Freeform in 2018. Let's set aside for the moment that they released this trailer eight months ahead of the new year (not to mention that it's doubtful it will air any time around January), and let's talk about what exactly this means for our pals over at Marvel Television.
Cloak & Dagger looks to be bringing something entirely new to the Marvel Cinematic Universe landscape: teen drama and romance. Sure, coming in three months is Spider-Man: Homecoming which will feature with teenage main characters and will deal with teenage issues. But - and this is a particularly big but - the themes which Spider-Man is likely to tackle are probably not going to be as heady as the topics which Cloak & Dagger will explore. Spider-Man, which primarily seems to be a comedy, has more in common with those old John Hughes movies like The Breakfast Club and Ferris Bueler's Day Off which - while not wholly unrealistic - give a much more saccharine and idealized view of teenage life. Cloak & Dagger, meanwhile, seems to want to talk more about class difference, racial inequality, drug addiction, running away from home, getting embroiled in crimes, and all that. So, yes, much more heady stuff - and actually quite appropriate given their comic origins, where they're mostly portrayed as fighting drug dealers.
(They should really team up with Scarlet Spider at some point. Is he back from the dead yet? I can't remember if Kaine is even still Scarlet Spider nowadays or if Ben's taken that mantle back. I miss Kaine.)
What's interesting is that this new series is airing on Freeform, essentially ABC's version of The CW which airs the DC shows like The Flash, Arrow, Supergirl, and Legends of Tomorrow. Obviously, they're aiming for a much younger audience than their more mainstream stuff on ABC - Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. and Agent Carter primarily - and their more TV-MA audience on Netflix - Daredevil, Jessica Jones, etc. Although what's funny is I hear that one of Daredevil's writers is the showrunner for Cloak & Dagger which helps explain why there is some fantastic cinematography from the brief glimpses we see in the trailer.
I'm hyped. I love teen dramas. I love romance. I love this weirdly dark and gritty atmosphere they have. The actors look pretty much what I expect them to look like given the source material (really pulling from Disney's child actor library with Olivia Holt there, aren't you Freeform?) and it sounds like they're going to do fine in the roles. Color me excited, but I kinda wish they didn't drop this trailer a full year before we get to see the rest of the series.
Cloak & Dagger looks to be bringing something entirely new to the Marvel Cinematic Universe landscape: teen drama and romance. Sure, coming in three months is Spider-Man: Homecoming which will feature with teenage main characters and will deal with teenage issues. But - and this is a particularly big but - the themes which Spider-Man is likely to tackle are probably not going to be as heady as the topics which Cloak & Dagger will explore. Spider-Man, which primarily seems to be a comedy, has more in common with those old John Hughes movies like The Breakfast Club and Ferris Bueler's Day Off which - while not wholly unrealistic - give a much more saccharine and idealized view of teenage life. Cloak & Dagger, meanwhile, seems to want to talk more about class difference, racial inequality, drug addiction, running away from home, getting embroiled in crimes, and all that. So, yes, much more heady stuff - and actually quite appropriate given their comic origins, where they're mostly portrayed as fighting drug dealers.
(They should really team up with Scarlet Spider at some point. Is he back from the dead yet? I can't remember if Kaine is even still Scarlet Spider nowadays or if Ben's taken that mantle back. I miss Kaine.)
What's interesting is that this new series is airing on Freeform, essentially ABC's version of The CW which airs the DC shows like The Flash, Arrow, Supergirl, and Legends of Tomorrow. Obviously, they're aiming for a much younger audience than their more mainstream stuff on ABC - Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. and Agent Carter primarily - and their more TV-MA audience on Netflix - Daredevil, Jessica Jones, etc. Although what's funny is I hear that one of Daredevil's writers is the showrunner for Cloak & Dagger which helps explain why there is some fantastic cinematography from the brief glimpses we see in the trailer.
I'm hyped. I love teen dramas. I love romance. I love this weirdly dark and gritty atmosphere they have. The actors look pretty much what I expect them to look like given the source material (really pulling from Disney's child actor library with Olivia Holt there, aren't you Freeform?) and it sounds like they're going to do fine in the roles. Color me excited, but I kinda wish they didn't drop this trailer a full year before we get to see the rest of the series.
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