Before season two of Marvel’s Runaways drops on Hulu December 21 (happy holidays to us all, really), the six main actors and showrunner Stephanie Savage (Gossip Girl, The O.C., Dynasty) joined Marvel executive Jeph Loeb for an exclusive New York Comic-Con screening, panel, and Q&A session, sharing what to expect in season two.
Fans got an NYCC exclusive look at the new season with a sizzle reel, the first episode back in its entirety, and a “this season on” showcase of what is to come. The panel consisted of co-showrunner Savage, Allegra Acosta (Molly), Ariela Barer (Gert), Gregg Sulkin (Chase), Virginia Gardner (Karolina), Lyrica Okano (Nico), Rhenzy Feliz (Alex).
The panel kicked off with an overview of where each character landed by the season one finale and what fans can expect from season two. Savage reveals, “They have run away! The runaways have enacted the title… they have gone to war.” The showrunner and producer continues, “This year, everything is bigger, louder, more powers, more secrets revealed.”
This season, we can expect a lot of growth and development for the Runaways. And could more people be joining the squad? The creative team and cast played coy, however the exclusive clips could predict this could happen. One new arrival is Topher (notably from the comics), who appears in the new trailer. In addition, the Runaways have all fully embraced their true selves and special abilities in the new season.
“Molly’s naturally street-smart,” says Acosta. “I think she’s a natural-born superhero and I think this whole season, her underlying test has been basically ‘let me be this superhero I’ve always wanted to be.’ So, I think she’s growing up physically and mentally and also learning more about her powers.”
Without giving away too much from the season two premiere, the 50-minute episode features plenty of the six teens on the run, while PRIDE sets up a new headquarters. The series remains grounded and showcases true friendships, new characters, potential love interests, and, obviously, super skills and abilities.
“It’s been a very fun season for me as an actor,” says Sulkin. “I think the journey of Chase, especially going into season two, he’s a boy, and throughout the second season we see him trying to figure out how to become a man. At the same time he is dealing with these situations and also he’s in a beautiful relationship with Gert… I think it’s great for the journey of show, the characters, and you see the ups and down with Chase and Gert, but at the end of the day, they still love each other, and that’s all that matters.”
In true Runaways fashion, the new episode has emotion, action, drama, love, and plenty of jaw-dropping twists that will keep you on your toes until the credits roll.
There’s humor and comedy in the episode, as well as gripping emotion and drama. And while some questions from the prior season are answered… even more are formed, as new mysteries and stories unfold, especially as the group begins to fully accept and embrace who they are.
“She’s really unafraid of all those things and she explores where she came from, she explores her family,” says Gardner. “Karolina’s flying a lot more this season, she’s rainbow a lot more this season. She really explores what she’s capable of this year, which is really badass. Karolina and Nico really explore their relationship, everything about each other.”
In the exclusive clip, fans at NYCC watch as the gang discovers a cool underground mansion, and even remark, “it sounds like home,” and we are taken to the Hostel, as inspired by the comics.
The final moments conclude with yet another twist, and everyone in the audience was blown away. Now, excuse me as I plan my holiday schedule around binging all 13 episodes.
