Marvel Studios first started developing a Runaways project in May 2008, though it wasn't until two years later that Drew Pearce - a relative unknown at the time who was later tapped to work on Iron Man 3 - landed the job of penning the movie's screenplay.
Somewhere along the line, it was scrapped, and Marvel Studios instead decided to take a gamble on Guardians of the Galaxy.
Years later, Marvel Television (which, aside from having to ask Kevin Feige permission to use certain characters, was run separately from Marvel Studios and the MCU) started developing a Runaways TV show.
Josh Schwartz and Stephanie Savage were tapped as showrunners and production began in 2017. Streaming on Hulu, the show largely flew under the radar and had minimal connections to the MCU and the Marvel Universe in general. Even so, it ran for three seasons until Marvel Studios took over TV production in 2019.
All this time, we've assumed that Runaways was never a project Marvel Studios was overly determined to make. However, talking in the newly released MCU: The Reign of Marvel Studios book, Pearce reveals it came incredibly close to becoming a reality.
After writing his first paid screenplay for Marvel, Pearce started to worry when the focus shifted to The Avengers and continuing the stories of each team member. He'd later get a call with confirmation the movie was dead.
"Runaways' code name was Small Faces," he recalls, confirming that was a nod to the influential rock band of the same name from the 1960s. "[We had] a production office with the Small Faces logo on it - done in the style of the Runaways logo."
"So yes, it was a real thing. I don't think people understand that, but it was going to be a 'go' movie, you know?"
It's hard not to wonder just how different the MCU might look had this Runaways movie actually happened. By now, those teen heroes would be all grown up and potentially serving in The Avengers alongside characters like Captain America, Spider-Man, and Thor.
Marvel Studios returning to Runaways seems highly unlikely after it was turned into a TV series, though there continue to be rumblings about certain characters from the show appearing elsewhere. It's been confirmed, for example, that Spider-Man: Freshman Year will feature Nico Minoru, a hero also rumoured to be part of Agatha.
Do you think this Runaways movie should have happened?