We’ve had two big surprises from Marvel and Freeform today in regard to Cloak and Dagger and New Warriors, their upcoming youth-centric joint ventures. They released the first official trailer for the former and announced the official team lineup for the latter.
Cloak and Dagger filmed its pilot a couple of months ago, but we didn't expect to see promotional materials anytime soon, since a previous report suggested that the series won't arrive until "winter 2018". However, its first trailer arrived today, with the announcement that its ten one-hour episodes will premiere on Freeform in "early 2018". We also learned that Beyond the Lights director Gina Prince-Bythewood called the shots for the pilot.
The trailer focuses on the compelling human drama involving Olivia Holt's Tandy Bowen and Aubrey Johnson's Tyrone Johnson, and highlights issues they deal with as teenagers. It isn’t until the last 30 seconds that the trailer mentions their superpowers as Cloak and Dagger. Check out the trailer below, along with the first photo!
https://youtu.be/E5hrFVQiGyk
It was revealed earlier this month that New Warriors will feature Doreen Green, aka Squirrel Girl, and five other superheroes. At that point, they still had the characters’ identities under wraps, but now the official announcement has revealed that the five members are Mister Immortal, Night Thrasher, Speedball, Microbe, and Debrii.
Squirrel Girl has never been part of the New Warriors in Marvel Comics, but she’ll be the team leader on the show. Her superpowers are described as "the powers of a squirrel, the powers of a girl". She’s a strong person who is skilled at acrobatics and fighting. She also has the ability to talk to squirrels. Here’s a character description:
Doreen is a totally empowered fangirl. She is a natural leader – confident and tough, but not innocent. Doreen is bouncy and energetic, and her greatest quality is her optimism"¦She has faith in others and inspires people to believe in themselves. She also takes her pet squirrel, Tippy Toe, everywhere.
Like Doreen, Craig Hollis, aka Mister Immortal, was never a member of the New Warriors in the comic books. The show's version of the character claims to be immortal, which he does have in common with his comic book character:
The team troublemaker and lothario"¦Craig is kind of like "The Most Interesting Man Alive", except he's more cocky than confident, and at times, charmingly grumpy. Although Craig's superpower seems amazing, he hasn't made use of it at all – he's lazy, and figures if he has all the time in the world to learn how to fight, what's the rush?
Dwayne Taylor, aka Night Thrasher, has been a part of the team and was even the original leader. The show's version of the character doesn't have superpowers:
Dwayne is a local celebrity "hero" with his very own YouTube channel. Brilliant, strong, noble, and maybe a bit full of himself, Dwayne is a shameless self-promoter and entrepreneur. But he also deeply believes in justice – at least his version of it. Dwayne hides the fact that he comes from a really rich family, because he's afraid he'll lose his street cred.
Robbie Baldwin, aka Speedball, is not only a founding team member, he’s also a part of the current comic book roster. On the show, he has the ability to launch kinetic balls of energy:
Robbie grew up watching Quinjets take off from Avengers Tower, and loves the idea of being a hero. He's an impulsive and immature people-pleaser with a misplaced sense of confidence. Although you would think throwing kinetic balls of energy would be awesome and effective, his are completely out of control.
Zack Smith, aka Microbe, first appeared as a member of the team in the Marvel Comics issue New Warriors Vol. 3 #1. On the show, he can communicate with germs, as his comic book counterpart does:
Zack is a shy hypochondriac, whose ability nearly makes him a telepath – the germs tell him where you've been, what you ate, and who you hung out with. It's impossible to keep secrets around him. He's a big sweet guy the team takes under their wing, and they help him find and grow his own confidence.
Deborah Fields, aka Debrii, debuted in New Warriors 3 #4. The show's version of the character is a trickster who has low-level telekinetic powers:
Deborah is proud, funny, and quick witted. Confidently out as a lesbian, Deborah has experienced deep loss in her personal life as a direct result of super "heroics". She can take care of herself, or at least says she can. She's the one who calls people on their BS, and has no fear of putting her opinions out there.
