Marvel’s ‘Runaways’ Movie Put on Hold, Thanks to ‘The Avengers’

Following the increasing success of the Marvel brand and 'The Avengers' films, the upcoming slate of Phase 3 movies has the fan world itching for details. With 'Guardians of the Galaxy' and 'Ant-Man' already in the works for Phase 2 and 3, respectively, what new superheroes could be hitting the big screen down the road? Perhaps 'Runaways,' but for the time being that's been put on hold, says the film's writer Drew Pearce.

The adaptation of Brian K. Vaughan's comic book about a group of teens who discover they have supervillains for parents has been a possibility for some time, with Pearce having drafted a script as his first project for Marvel Studios. But, thanks to to the success of 'The Avengers,' this virtually unknown story was shelved and Pearce went on to script 'Iron Man 3.'

However, he seems to have hope that we'll one day get to see a 'Runaways' Marvel movie. While on 'The Q&A with Jeff Goldstein' podcast (via THR), Pearce said:

We were really close to being made, and then this movie started to happen called 'The Avengers' ... Oddly, it pulled focus from the unheard-of brand 'Runaways,' and it really did kind of consume the Marvel Cinematic Universe. It's there -- maybe it'll be a Phase 3 movie. I really hope so. I'm really proud of it and I think it'll be a brilliant film, but I think it all depends what Kevin Feige, the president of Marvel, his master plan is.

Aside from the current Marvel movie slate -- 'Thor: The Dark World,' 'Captain America: The Winter Soldier,' 'Guardians of the Galaxy,' 'The Avengers: Age of Ultron' and 'Ant-Man' -- the studio has 'Doctor Strange,' 'Black Panther' and 'Blade' films in development, and plans for 'The Avengers 3' and 'The Avengers 4.' Although, 'Guardians,' which is nearly finished with production, could perhaps determine whether we see 'Runaways' added on. Marvel's "space opera" was itself a relatively unknown entity before the film was announced, and if it sees a high level of ticket sales, it would seem more of these new brands could achieve film adaptations.

However, even if a 'Runaways' movie is in the cards, 'Iron Man 3' director Shane Black says it won't be for a while. "They [Marvel] make two [movies] a year, but that's still at least three years down the line [until they run out of films already in progress]."