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Curious
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Disney+ contained a couple of mysteries when it launched. There was the mystery of Fuzzbucket, obviously, and then there was the mystery of Marvel’s Runaways. This was actually 70% surprise and 30% mystery: what was Marvel’s Runaways, a Hulu original, doing on Disney+? But there it was, Runaways Season 1, tucked away on the new streaming service with no fanfare. Subscribers could watch Nico and Karolina fall in love alongside a Disney princess and her prince charming. And then, mere days after the Runaways snuck into the house of mouse, Hulu announced that the show would end with the upcoming Season 3. So, why is Marvel’s Runaways on Disney+ and Hulu? And–a burning question for the show’s fans–could the series runaway to Disney+ for good?
As far as I can recall, this is either one of the first or the first example of an original streaming series streaming on both its original and a second service. How did this happen? Well, Marvel’s Runaways is a Marvel show, meaning that it’s owned by Disney (and I guess it also means we could, and should, get an Old Lace animated series). As of March 2019, Disney now effectively owns Hulu, too. Marvel’s Runaways is on both streaming services because it’s all in the family. It’s also worth noting that Disney+ only has Season 1 of Marvel’s Runaways, with Season 2 presumably coming at a later date (although we really don’t know if that’s the plan).
This isn’t the first time Marvel’s Runaways has broken new ground for a streaming original thanks to Disney synergy. The series actually became one of the few streaming shows to air on a traditional, over-the-air cable network when Disney-owned cable network Freeform ran the series premiere back in August 2018. It’s kinda like the higher-ups at Disney have always seen Marvel’s Runaways as a key cross-marketing tool, using the show and its cast of super cool super teens in an attempt to reach a wider audience. That may be why it aired on Freeform, and that may be why it’s on Disney+ too.
The timing, though, is a bit of a bummer. Marvel’s Runaways was pronounced donezo just six days after the launch of Disney+, which cut short any hopes of the show living long enough to debut a season on two streaming services simultaneously. Instead, Season 3 of Marvel’s Runaways will premiere on Friday, December 13 and maybe someday Seasons 2 and 3 will end up on Disney+.
But here’s the big question: could the Runaways turn Disney+ into their new abandoned underground mansion and camp out there for years to come? Could Disney+ ultimately renew the show for Season 4? I’m going with… probably not.
Hate to deliver a dose Gert-level truth, but it has to be said. If Disney+ was going to pick up Runaways for a fourth season, odds are they would’ve announced that instead of the show’s total cancellation at Hulu. Think about it: Disney+ Renews Marvel’s Runaways for Season 4 is a much better headline than Marvel’s Runaways Canceled. And right under that would be them just not saying anything at all ahead of Season 3 and waiting a few more months to confirm that the show’s permanently jumping to Disney+. They didn’t go that route, either.
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Marvel's Runaways
The other variable in all of this is former head of Marvel Television Jeph Loeb, one of the behind-the-scenes people that worked hard to bring Marvel’s Runaways to Hulu in the first place. He parted ways with Marvel in October, a month after Hulu stopped pre-production on a live-action Ghost Rider from Loeb’s team. While Hulu is apparently still moving forward with Marvel’s Helstrom and a slate of animated shows, the future of Marvel TV looks to lie with Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige and the live-action movie star shows on Disney+. TBH, with Loeb out and all of his shows canceled or ending (the entire Netflix lineup, Runaways, Marvel’s Cloak and Dagger, and Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.), I wouldn’t be surprised if Disney’s more interested in having a clean slate that Loeb’s old slate.
So when you sit down to binge all of Marvel’s Runaways Season 3, know that this is almost definitely the last you’ll see of these kids (at least in this iteration). Maybe they’ll eventually end up on Disney+ too, but it’ll most likely be in reruns.
