A big screen version of Marvel's Runaways has been in the works for a long time, but many assumed that the film was put on the back burner so Marvel could focus on THE AVENGERS. While talking to Empire, Drew Pearce (who wrote the screenplay for RUNAWAYS and co-wrote IRON MAN 3) says that's exactly what happened.
"We were really close to being made, and then this movie started to happen called The Avengers. It pulled focus from the unheard-of brand Runaways, and it really did kind of consume the Marvel Cinematic Universe."
But RUNAWAYS isn't dead: back in May it sounded like Marvel was still interested and Pearce says there's a chance the movie will be a part of Marvel's Phase 3 line-up.
"It's [still] there," he says. "Maybe it'll be a Phase Three movie. I really hope so. I'm really proud of it and I think it'll be a brilliant film, but I think it all depends what [Marvel president]Kevin Feige's master plan is."
One person who has read Drew Pearce's script for RUNAWAYS is IRON MAN 3 director Shane Black, and he calls it, "one of the better screenplays that's sitting on a shelf somewhere."
The comics are about a group of kids who discover that their parents are super villains, and use their inherited powers to battle them and others who threaten the safety and security of the world. Plus, there's a girl who has a telepathic link to a dinosaur. Sold yet?
RUNAWAYS could be an absolutely awesome film, and hopefully when Marvel starts solidifying their plans for Phase 3 the superhero team will be a part of it.