Exclusive sneak peek: Squirrel Girl leads the team of Freeform's 'New Warriors'
Squirrel Girl and her posse are ready to get nuts.
Slated to debut next year, New Warriors is Freeform’s half-hour Marvel action comedy featuring six youngsters who yearn to be the next Captain America or Iron Man but learn that making superhero dreams come true can be tricky.
“Most of them would settle but some of those kids would keep going and get into their 20s with these hopes. It’s hard, and how do you make money doing it?” says executive producer Kevin Biegel.
Freeform also has the youth-oriented Cloak and Dagger on tap for 2018, part of a corporate effort by Disney, which owns both Marvel and the cable network. “Expanding our relationship with Marvel is a big priority for us,” says Tom Ascheim, president of Freeform, formerly known as ABC Family.
And New Warriors will have a voice that definitely connects to the channel’s audience, adds Jeph Loeb, executive producer and head of Marvel Television. The show’s heroes “are the eager, hopeful-for-a-brighter-tomorrow group that also have the wry, sardonic, life-is-hell attitude that makes them uniquely Marvel.”
In addition to debuting comic-book versions of the gang here in a USA TODAY exclusive, Biegel shares breakdowns of each character to be featured in the live-action series, which has not yet been cast.
Doreen Green (Squirrel Girl)
Squirrel Girl is the spunky fangirl and "wonderful heart of the show" with acrobat skills, superhuman strength and a cool squirrel tail, Biegel says. (She can also talk to critters including her sidekick, Tippy Toe.) “She is openly hopeful and earnest and sweet and optimistic, but smart and very determined that she can make a difference, too. She knows she’s great and if you’re not going to get on board with her, she’ll leave you in the dust.”
Craig Hollis (Mister Immortal)
The squad’s resident troublemaker and lothario, this guy can’t die — or at least that’s what he says — and is equally cocky and grumpy. “Craig is a little more jaded and saying things aren’t as rosy and the world isn’t as hopeful as you make it out to be,” says Biegel.
Dwayne Taylor (Night Thrasher)
The masked dude is a local celebrity with his own YouTube channel but no actual superpowers. His parents were killed when he was younger, though he worries about his family’s wealth ruining his street cred. “Dwayne is the one who’s enterprising and really trying to figure out the business side of this entire thing,” Biegel says, “but at the same time he really does care about justice.”
Robbie Baldwin (Speedball)
A guy whose childhood was spent watching Quinjets take off from Avengers Tower, Speedball has the knack — though maybe not the greatest aim — for tossing kinetic balls of energy. Although immature and impulsive, “Robbie has these noble aspirations, but can’t quite figure out which one to pursue," Biegel says.
Zack Smith (Microbe)
A big guy with a sizable heart, Microbe communicates with germs, giving him telepathic-like qualities, though he leans on his pals to find extra confidence. “Zack literally is just looking for a connection: ‘Hey, maybe I can find a group of people I can hang out with,’ which is totally part of who you are in your 20s,” Biegel says.
Deborah Fields (Debrii)
Not only is she a low-level telekinetic trickster who has experienced serious personal loss due to the actions of superheroes, Deborah is also a proud, witty lesbian. “It’s not all about ‘Hey, I relate to the show because I want to have a squirrel tail,' but ‘Hey, this is the story about someone who’s out as a lesbian and maybe it’s not that easy,’" Biegel says.