Marvel's New Warriors could have been great. The series had a great cast of up-and-coming actors, the pilot was shot, and nine more episodes had been commissioned by the network Freeform. Yet, come November 2017, and Freeform could not find room in its schedule, and New Warriors was shopped around again – and never found a home.
While we know a fair amount about the pilot – the superhero team were due to be led by Milana Vayntrub's Squirrel Girl and the test-screening scores were very strong - we were previously unaware of the story arc Keith David's character would take. Turns out, the actor – best known for his iconic roles in Platoon and The Thing – would have, by the first season's end, become the supervillain M.O.D.O.K.
Kevin Biegel, who was set to act as showrunner, revealed the news on Twitter, writing: "I just got sad talking to a friend because I remembered we had a seasons-long plan on our New Warriors show to turn Keith David's character into M.O.D.O.K."
"Just shut your eyes and imagine Keith David saying, 'MODOK.' And then laughing," he added. "Oh my God it still gives me goosebumps."
I just got sad talking to a friend because I remembered we had a seasons-long plan on our New Warriors show to turn Keith David's character into M.O.D.O.K.June 17, 2020
David has a history of voicing comic-book characters, including the ape Solovar on The CW's The Flash, King T'Chaka in the animated series Avengers Assemble, and Mongul in the Young Justice series. To say this is a loss for the MCU is an understatement – but hopefully those producers over at Disney Plus are listening in and will bring back David's version of the character. In the meantime, Patton Oswalt will voice M.O.D.O.K on the aptly named animated show M.O.D.O.K., which will air on Hulu and is unrelated to the MCU.
While New Warriors may have been cancelled, there are still a bunch new Marvel TV shows on the way as part of Marvel Phase 4.
