Posted in: Disney+, Freeform, Movies, TV | Tagged: new warriors
New Warriors Star Addresses Series Pilot’s Fate, Shares BTS Looks
New Warriors star Derek Theler addresses going from a series green to being canceled, and shares some behind-the-scenes looks from the pilot.
Article Summary
- Marvel’s canceled New Warriors resurfaces as Derek Theler opens up about the lost TV comedy and its stalled fate.
- Ordered to series by Freeform in 2017, New Warriors was completed as a pilot before vanishing in development limbo.
- Theler recalls New Warriors as a mockumentary-style Marvel comedy with strong cast chemistry and big creative promise.
- Derek Theler also shares rare behind-the-scenes New Warriors memories while reflecting on what the series could’ve become.
If you thought that Marvel’s love/hate relationship with television shows based on its comic book properties was something that just sprang up as the fallout of Disney losing “The Great Streaming Wars of 2022,” then you need to look up how things went down during the Jeph Loeb/Marvel Television days – especially the point where Kevin Feige started rising up the ladder and Marvel Studios was becoming a reality. But we’re revisiting one project in particular because one of the stars of the pilot and series-that-almost-was has shared some thoughts – as well as some looks behind the scenes.
Back in 2016, a live-action series take on Tom DeFalco and Ron Frenz‘s New Warriors from Kevin Biegel was shopped out for a home, with a 10-episode series order for Freeform coming in April 2017. Produced by ABC Signature Studios and Marvel Television, the series would see Biegel serve as showrunner and write the series premiere, with a pilot produced seven months later. The cast featured Milana Vayntrub as Doreen Green / Squirrel Girl, Derek Theler as Craig Hollis / Mr. Immortal, Jeremy Tardy as Dwayne Taylor / Night Thrasher, Calum Worthy as Robbie Baldwin / Speedball, Matthew Moy as Zach Smith / Microbe, Kate Comer as Deborah Fields / Debrii, and Keith David (Adult Swim’s President Curtis) as Ernest Vigman, a municipal employee.
And then, things just kinda didn’t happen. By the time the pilot was complete, it seems Freeform no longer had room on its 2018 programming schedule. With the project back in Marvel Television’s hands, New Warriors was shopped out to other Disney options. But with no takers, the project would go from a 10-episode series order to being canceled in a little less than 2-1/2 years. On Thursday, Theler took to social media to offer his thoughts on the project and its fate, as well as share some of what he experienced while filming the project.
“Let me tell you a story about a little Marvel TV show we made…,” Theler began his Instagram post, which included a gallery of images and video from behind the scenes of the pilot. “At the height of Marvel’s epic Infinity Saga run, we shot a comedy about a shitty superhero team tasked with protecting Cleveland, Ohio: The New Warriors. The team: Squirrel Girl, Night Thrasher, Speedball, Microbe, Debrii, and my character, Mr. Immortal. The concept was hilarious—a group of young adults with superpowers trying to figure out how to actually become superheroes, all while being followed by a documentary camera crew. Basically, Marvel meets The Office. And it was AMAZING. The writers were hilarious, the crew was incredible, and the cast had instant chemistry. We shot the pilot, got picked up for the season, and genuinely thought we had something special. Then… we waited. And waited.”
Theler continued, “Eventually, the show disappeared into Hollywood limbo. No dramatic cancellation. No real explanation. We just never came back. That’s Hollywood sometimes. You can make something great, have all the momentum in the world—and somehow it still gets pushed aside. We were FORBIDDEN from taking photos or videos on set… but there was no chance I was letting my introduction to the MCU go completely undocumented. So I secretly captured some BTS footage. As far as I know, it’s the only footage from our shoot outside whatever Marvel has locked away in a vault. We had such a great time making this thing, and we’re still friends to this day. Our group chat is always buzzing. Every once in a while, I wonder what could have been. Would people have loved it? Would we have gotten multiple seasons? Turns out the one thing Mr. Immortal couldn’t survive was Hollywood. But for a little while, we were the New Warriors of Cleveland, Ohio—and it was fucking awesome. I hear the Avengers have a Doom problem on their hands. If they need backup, I know a team…”
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