We’ve always been told that Marvel’s TV shows are set within the realms of the Marvel Cinematic Universe that unites their movies. Mostly, though, this just means that the likes of Daredevil and Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. can namecheck Iron Man or the Hulk once in a while. The shows don’t ever crossover themselves, though. For instance, Phil Coulson isn’t going to turn up on, say, Jessica Jones anytime soon.
Intriguingly, though, some new information suggests that the latest series to join Marvel’s TV output, Hulu’s Runaways, will be connected to the Netflix corner of the MCU. If true, this will be the first time that Marvel series that air on different networks have crossed over – even in just a namedropping sense – in a major way.
The news comes courtesy of Decider, who claim that Marvel TV president Jeph Loeb confirmed at TCA 2017 that Runaways and the Defendersverse are set “in the same world.”
Jeph Loeb says that @Runaways lives in the same world as Netflix's Marvel shows, how it's connected remains to be seen. #TCA17
— Decider (@decider) July 27, 2017
The connection between these series is extra surprising considering that they’re released via competing streaming services. It’s for this reason that we imagine that it’s unlikely Charlie Cox, Rosario Dawson and the rest will turn up for a quick cameo in the teen-oriented superhero show – though we can always hope.
This news has also sparked some discussion among fans about whether the Netflix universe is actually a whole other world from the MCU. If Decider have transcribed Loeb correctly, his words do suggest that the Marvel’s Netflix shows are separate from everything else. Although it would contradict what we’ve been promised before, it would make sense considering their darker tone.
That said, there’s already a link out there that ties Runaways to the movies. Doctor Strange featured Tina Minoru in a minor role as a student of the Ancient One’s at Kamar-Taj. Tina is, of course, the mother of Runaway Nico Minoru in the show.
Runaways stars a young cast including Rhenzy Feliz, Lyrica Okano, Virginia Gardner, Ariela Barer, Gregg Sulkin and Allegra Acosta. The 10 episode first season arrives on Hulu on November 21st.