The latest Marvel TV show has hit the airwaves in the form of Freeform’s Cloak & Dagger. Starring Olivia Holt and Aubrey Joseph, the series explores the connection between lost super-powered teens Tyrone “Cloak” Johnson and Tandy “Dagger” Bowen. Despite these characters being well-entrenched in the wider Marvel universe in the comics, though, they’ll be kept separate from the rest of the franchise… at least for the moment.
That being said, Cloak & Dagger showrunner Joe Pokaski’s revealed that he’s already spoken with studio execs about some potential future crossovers.
“We’ve had some exciting conversations about how we could artfully cross Tandy and Tyrone over [to other Marvel properties]. The beauty of these two is that they can show up anywhere [and it makes sense].”
As for this first season, the exec producer described the debut run as exploring the titular heroes “as individual characters,” so we shouldn’t expect any major crossovers, though he did promise that there will be a fair few MCU easter eggs and references for fans to pick up on. “There are at least a dozen Easter eggs in the first season that Marvel approved, and a few more that I snuck in there,” he teased.
For one, Stan Lee will make his customary cameo via a portrait, hinted Pokaski, while Roxxon Corporation, the sinister organization which has flitted through the MCU since it was first name-checked in Iron Man 2 will play a key role. “We’re excited to have Roxxon Gulf, our Louisiana version of Roxxon, represented,” the showrunner said.
As well as featuring in Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. and Iron Fist, Roxxon’s most prominent role in the franchise to date had been Agent Carter. In a neat connection, the events of the pilot episode of Cloak & Dagger nicely dovetailed with what we knew about the company from the Hayley Atwell-led show and their acquisition of Darkforce energy. Like Pokaski says, it’s clear he was interested in making sure his project slotted into the world of the Marvel Cinematic Universe and so far, things seem to be going well on that front.