We’re far enough into Marvel’s movie and TV universes that crossover potential seems remote, though the latter’s move from ABC to Netflix and Hulu raises questions. Marvel’s Runaways are now confirmed to inhabit the same universe, but likely won’t meet either Avengers or Defenders.

The question naturally came up in Hulu’s TCA press tour panel, as Runaways itself is an outlier from Marvel Freeform shows New Warriors and Cloak and Dagger. Fresh off Comic-Con, Marvel TV boss Jeph Loeb was only-too-happy to play the “it’s all connected” card, though he at least acknowledged any active Avengers were pretty far removed from the Runaways (via THR / IGN):

It all lives in the same world. How and where it’s connected and what it’s going to be connected to remains to be seen. Right now what we’re trying to do is tell the great story that Josh [Schwartz, Chuck and The O.C.] and Stephanie [Savage, The O.C.] have grafted that’s based an award-winning series by Brian K. Vaughan, who’s also on board. It has an amazing cast and that’s where it fits in […]

I think the show much more lives in a world where if you’re a teenager – and everything’s connected by social media and everything’s connected in a certain way – would you be following Iron Man or would you be following someone who was more your age? So the fact that they found each other and are going through this mystery together, it becomes the moment that they’re concerned about and not what Captain America is doing on a Friday.

Loeb also cast doubt on the Runaways meeting Freeform’s New Warriors or Cloak and Dagger, invoking the new Spider-Man as part of a pivot to young heroes. As with most Marvel shows, we can likely expect a few references to the larger Marvel universe, though poor Punisher is once again off on his lonesome:

You’ll see things that comment on each other; we try to touch base where ever we can. It’s very much like real life — things that are happening in L.A. are not exactly going to be affecting what’s happening in New Orleans or what’s happening in New York isn’t on the minds of everyone living in Chicago. It’s being aware of it and trying to find a way for it to be able to discuss in a way that makes sense … I don’t think the Punisher is going to show up on Freeform.

In addition to Buffy breakout James Marsters and 24 alum Annie Wersching as their Pride-ful parents, Hulu’s Runaways features Rhenzy Feliz as Alex Wilder, Lyrica Okano as Nico Minoru, Virginia Gardner as Karolina Dean, Ariela Barer as Gert Yorkes, Gregg Sulkin as Chase Stein and Allegra Acosta as Molly Hernandez. Gossip Girl creators Josh Schwartz and Stephanie Savage will helm the series overall.

We’ll have a closer look at the series before its November 21 premiere, so stay tuned for the latest on Marvel’s Runaways.

More From ScreenCrush