Marvel's TV properties are more often focused on action — see: Daredevil and Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. — than romance, but the blockbuster comic company is shifting to include a bit of star-crossed intrigue with its newest series, Cloak and Dagger.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, the Freeform show is focusing on its titular characters and their budding relationship as they find one another and deal with the development of their newfound powers.
Cloak and Dagger, aka Tandy Bowen and Tyrone Johnson, played by Disney Channel alumnae Olivia Holt and Aubrey Joseph (HBO's The Night Of), respectively, looks like it's more akin to the CW's superhero shows with its dark, brooding tone and its balance of comic-book action and angst.
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Bowen is a ballerina who develops the ability to create daggers of light. Johnson finds out that he can surround himself (and others) in a shroud of darkness — hence their aliases. Viewers don't know why quite yet, but like many characters who find themselves developing superpowers, they're on the run. From who? Another mystery. What we do know is that the two become close during their sure-to-be perilous journey. As if teenage love wasn't hard enough, these two have danger and power to deal with, too. And for real Marvel die-hards, you'll see plenty of callbacks to other series and the universe as a whole (Roxxon Corp., anyone?)
While many critics may focus on Marvel's existing race issues, it seems like the studio is setting Cloak and Dagger up to buck the trends. Johnson is Black (in step with the original comics) and THR reports that the show will focus on the interracial relationship that he develops with Bowen. It's a positive shift for Marvel as a whole, which has worked to include a Native American character in FX's Legion (Amber Midthunder) and cast Olivia Munn as Psylocke in X-Men: Apocalypse.
Check out the first trailer for Cloak and Dagger, below. The show is set to premiere on Freeform in 2018.