The future of Marvel TV continues to take shape as Cloak and Dagger has been canceled. The Freeform series concluded its sophomore season a handful of months ago and had not been handed a renewal. It had been heavily suspected that the show wasn't going to return, but now the news has been confirmed. Given the timing of the information, the cancelation takes on a slightly new meaning as Marvel, on the small screen, is seeing a seismic shift.
First thing's first. According to a new report, Cloak & Dagger season 2 will be its last. The news was later confirmed by several cast members, including Olivia Holt (Dagger), Aubrey Joseph (Cloak) and Emma Lahana (Brigid O'Reilly), as well as series creator Joe Pokaski. Freeform had this to say about the decision in a statement.
"We are so proud of Marvel's Cloak & Dagger and the trailblazing stories this series told. We are also grateful to our incredible talent Oliva Holt and Aubrey Joseph for bringing these beloved characters to life, and showrunner Joe Pokaski for his vision. We'd like to thank our partners at Marvel Television for a wonderful two seasons and we are hopeful that we can find another project together."
This comes not long after it was revealed that Kevin Feige, president of Marvel Studios, had been promoted to Chief Creative Officer at Marvel. That expanded his role to oversee the entire creative vision of the company, which includes publishing and TV. It was also recently revealed that Marvel Television head Jeph Loeb will be stepping down. The Marvel TV landscape is changing in a big way.
Future shows, such as The Falcon and The Winter Solider and Loki, which are being produced for Disney+, will be more heavily anchored in the MCU, right alongside the movies. Shows like Cloak & Dagger don't quite fit that model anymore. Series creator Joe Pokaski took to Twitter to share his impassioned thoughts on the matter in an extensive thread. Here's some of what he had to say.
"So, yeah. There are parts of me that feel gut-punched or angry at larger corporate forces, but the biggest feeling I have in my heart right now, by far, is pride. I'm so f****** proud with what we got to do on #Cloakanddagger. This was the first pilot I'd ever written, i was very green, and I put my heart into it, and then it was put in a drawer. When I got the call five years later that they wanted to make it, I wasn't surprised. Because you can't keep Tandy and Tyrone in a drawer."
The characters of Cloak & Dagger were first brought to life in the pages of Marvel Comics in Peter Parker, The Spectacular Spider-Man #64 back in 1982. This marked their first major appearance in live-action. Cloak & Dagger are set to appear on an episode of Hulu's The Runaways, so we've still got at least one more adventure with them in the future. This news was previously reported by Deadine.
This was the first pilot I’d ever written, i was very green, and I put my heart into it, and then it was put in a drawer. When I got the call five years later that they wanted to make it, I wasn’t surprised. Because you can’t keep Tandy and Tyrone in a drawer.
— Joe Pokaski (@JoePokaski) October 24, 2019
This time around, there was no reason to pull punches. We found a force of nature director like @gpbmadeit to help tell this coming of age story that put #Marvel characters and situations on the screen that didn’t look like what we had seen before.
— Joe Pokaski (@JoePokaski) October 24, 2019
They were but two of a troupe of amazing actors, heroes and villains, and sometimes both (I’m looking at you, @emmaklahana ) who brought their own truth to our fiction and pulled me into stories I knew were made up.
— Joe Pokaski (@JoePokaski) October 24, 2019
We put together the best crew in television. The amount of art, sweat, and tears poured into every frame, with a limited amount of resources, and a dedication to diversity and justice. We did the impossible. And became a family and I hope we remain as such.
— Joe Pokaski (@JoePokaski) October 24, 2019
Most importantly, we had a strong group of fans picking up what we were putting down. Who took conversations about privilege out of our church and into their lives. Who knew what it meant when we put a man in a refrigerator.
— Joe Pokaski (@JoePokaski) October 24, 2019
There is no human better at second-guessing himself than me, I swear. And while my imagination is active, I can’t think of what I would have done different with this great power and great responsibility in our corner of the Marvel Universe. I’m so proud of what we got to do.
— Joe Pokaski (@JoePokaski) October 24, 2019
…because you can’t keep Tandy & Tyrone in a drawer.
— Joe Pokaski (@JoePokaski) October 24, 2019
to my #CloakAndDaggerfamily ???????? pic.twitter.com/FBIfoW5G5v
— olivia holt (@olivia_holt) October 25, 2019
