Marvel's television efforts are heading in a completely different direction with Freeform's new drama Cloak & Dagger, and I'm not just talking about heading south to New Orleans for its central setting. In the updated take on the comic duo, Cloak & Dagger's young leads Tyrone and Tandy are respectively dealing with being able to see people's fears and hopes, while also building a friendship together. But it sounds like their ages and their location might not stop them from appearing elsewhere within the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Here's what showrunner Joe Pokaski said about the show's connection to other properties.
[I'm] not allowed to talk about the timing in terms of Infinity War. . . 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].
It's interesting, if perhaps expected, that Joe Pokaski isn't allowed to use the universe-shaking Avengers: Infinity War as a talking point for Cloak & Dagger. That film is still making money at the box office, after all, and Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. has really been the only TV show to have pertinent and straightforward connections with the films. Considering the Freeform show is more closely tied to different facets of humanity, nobody was expecting Thanos to show up anyway.
While nothing may come of the exciting conversations Joe Pokaski had with other Marvel TV execs -- such as big boss Jeph Loeb, who has been wishy-washy about the show's MCU crossovers in the past -- it's encouraging that he brought them up at all, since Pokaski clearly knows how excited fanbases can be about co-mingling superheroes. Practically, Freeform being an ABC-owned channel would make S.H.I.E.L.D. the easy fit for characters crossing over, but the younger actors Olivia Holt and Aubrey Joseph would probably feel more at home with the teenaged vigilantes of Hulu's Runaways. As for the Netflix shows...probably never gonna happen.
But we might at least get a Daredevil or Jessica Jones nod somewhere, if we're lucky. Joe Pokaski told TVLine that Cloak & Dagger definitely won't be skimping on ties to the comics and other Marvel works, so expect to keep your eyes and ears peeled at all times. In his words:
There are at least a dozen Easter eggs in the first season that Marvel approved, and a few more that I snuck in there.
What kind of intentionally cloaked references are we going to see? Find out when Cloak & Dagger premieres on Freeform on Thursday, June 7, at 8:00 p.m. ET. To see when all the season's other big shows are popping up, head to our summer premiere schedule.
