The Marvel’s RUNAWAYS cast was at New York Comic Con 2018, and we had the luxury of interviewing them about RUNAWAYS season 2! Rhenzy Feliz, Lyrica Okano, Angel Parker, Ariela Barer, Ryan Sands, Allegra Acosta, James Yaegashi, Stephanie Savage, and Jeph Loeb could not have been more amazing!

The first season of Marvel’s RUNAWAYS enraptured viewers with dramatic action scenes and (semi) relatable family dynamics. Old fans of the comics along with new fans of the MCU began following the show. This quickly garnered RUNAWAYS enough attention to warrant a second season. RUNAWAYS season 2 will premiere in a few months, on December 21st. Fortunately, ComicsVerse talked to the cast ahead of the premiere date about what stood out to them in season one and what viewers can expect from RUNAWAYS season 2.

Unlike the first season, RUNAWAYS season 2 showcases the kids on the run as they attempt to dismantle the Pride’s evil agenda from the outside instead of the inside. RUNAWAYS season 2 sees new characters, different settings, and higher stakes that you won’t want to miss.

We can’t wait for RUNAWAYS season 2!

What can we expect from your character in season 2?

James Yaegashi: RUNAWAYS season 2. Okay, season 1, Robert is like this beta guy, who sort of like stays under the surface and is like happy sort of like letting other people doing whatever. But there’s a big bombshell that happens, you know, at the end of season one and that’s just the line that should not be crossed with a beta male and season two is all about what happens when you cross the beta male.

Angel Parker: Oh man, there’s just more evil. There’s less remorse. It’s bigger, it’s such a big show and this season, RUNAWAYS season 2, they really double down. Hulu and Marvel just believe in our show and it’s bigger, it’s badder. It’s just, the special effects are greater, the storyline is beautiful. We have three more episodes and we come in on the 21st of December, so it’s really, really good. I can’t tell you anything, there are like snipers in the sky.

Ryan Sands: Season two, I think we find Geoffrey at a place, where he’s really, really conflicted. I mean, he knows that he has to get his son back, he knows he wants to get rid of the Pride, but he’s really conflicted as to how he should go about it. So he’s got to get his wife on board with his plan, he’s got to keep it secret from the rest of the Pride, so it’s a really tight spot for him to be in, but it’s really fun to play.

What about Alex and Darius’s relationship?

Rhenzy Feliz: Right out the gate, they sort of grow towards each other, they kind of connect like magnets. And as time goes on, they become closer and so you kind of get to see that relationship play out and what that means. You know, that has ripple effects throughout with my family and Darius’s family and it’s a fun arc to kind of play.

Do you find Molly relatable?

Allegra Acosta: Since the moment I got this role and the moment I read the comics and kind of really dived deep into Molly’s kind of persona and character, I knew that she was a lot more like me than I thought. So from the moment I always wanted to put in just a little bit of myself in it.

She’s very determined, she’s very gracious, she’s adventurous, she’s a goal getter, she’s stubborn, she’s just like me and I loved playing with that. One thing that I didn’t have, that she’s experienced is that she goes through a lot of loss throughout the season. She has a superhuman element, but the thing that made it all relatable is that we all grow up with the universal truth of growing up and not being believed in because you’re a kid. And so she fights with that to prove people that kids know what’s up and we can take on the world.

What does RUNAWAYS season 2 have in store for Old Lace?

Ariela Barer: She is like the therapy dog of Gert’s life, but then also I think she evolves in RUNAWAYS season 2 into kind of more of a friend and companion. Because Gert kind of get, I mean, not Gert, also Gert, but Old Lace kind of gets her own plotline this year, she definitely–

Peyton: Okay, I’m excited about that.

Ariela Barer: Yeah, she kind of solidifies her place as the seventh runaway, so now she’s kind of more on equal footing with everyone else and she gets to be the hero of the moment. She also gets to be rescued in some moments. So I think she’s kind of become more part of the group dynamic in a way this season.

How relatable do you find Gert as a character?

Ariela Barer: Almost too relatable, ’cause sometimes I’m like, oh, I do that, don’t I? Even when Gert’s doing something a little wrong, I’m like, oh, whoops.

You had to do a lot of modernizing to get this 2003 comic book into this decade. You changed the Gibborim giants into this church, what motivated that decision?

Stephanie Savage: Well, I will say preemptively that a giant stone monster may be making an appearance this season, so do not write that off. But we thought the church was a fun way to incorporate this idea of a kind of alien being that was with us here and kind of drive some of the Gibborim mythology through a contemporary institution.

Jeph Loeb: It was just: imagine a religion, which is based on a sci-fi novel and how that could possibly work in the real world. I think was the beginning of where it all began.

Stephanie Savage: Perhaps.

Jeph Loeb: Perhaps that. But again to give credit where credit’s due, Brian came on when he created them 15 years ago was in many ways ahead of its time. You know, having a cast that was just so diverse, really strong female empowered characters. Like things that we’re thinking about now and caring about now and probably should have been thinking about a lot harder 15 years ago is something that we can now easily adapt. I mean, that was one of the things that I thought was sort of fun was that so much of what Brian did worked today.

If you had to describe your character in one word, what would you use?

Jason Yaegashi: Oh, father.

Angel Parker: Fierce. Loyal, really, but fierce, hey.

Allegra Acosta: Iconic.

Lyrica Okano: Just mood.

Ryan Sands: Protective.

Did you look to the comics for any inspiration on your character?

Angel Parker: Oh yes, absolutely. I read all of them and loved it. I mean, even from the ponytail. I auditioned and I had my natural curly hair, I don’t have it right now, but I have naturally curly hair and they loved it, they were like, “Oh yeah, you look beautiful, we’ll hire you as is,” and I was like, no, no, but the comic, she has this long, great ponytail and it’s in every frame and it’s always so beautiful. So even down to something as simple as that. Let alone just how she was drawn, how she spoke. Yes, absolutely.

Allegra Acosta: All the time. Especially the fan art that’s sent and the memes of like all of Molly’s sayings. Like especially what she says, like her catchphrases are so iconic and they’re so much fun to kind of incorporate her tone and her witty character that she has.

Jason Yaegashi: I did coming into it. But I think, you know, as I think you’ve seen in season one, the series is taking on a whole new life of its own as the RUNAWAYS, the TV series versus the comics, whilst staying true to the spirit of the comics. And frankly I think in the comics, you didn’t really quite, you know, a lot of the Pride members were not explored fully, in terms of the depth of the characters, which I think the TV series does much more. So I would argue that maybe this is like something that actually, you know, fills in the gaps.

Peyton: Maybe it was happening off screen?

Jason Yaegashi: You know, yeah, exactly, exactly, that it may not be necessarily incompatible, you know.

You had to go through a lot of development and changes throughout season one and your character grew so much. Can we see that happening in RUNAWAYS season 2 as well?

Allegra Acosta: For sure, her arc goes into more too, not only her heritage, but her abilities, especially her superhuman strength kind of takes on this huge role of her wanting to be the superhero, wanting to take on the role, wanting to impact the world in some sort of way, since she’s gone through so much loss and so much negative. I think that she’s a natural born superhero, I like to say, because she really wants to make the world a better place and it’s so much fun to kind of take that and to know and play with the character and kind of develop her throughout this season, especially since she’s growing up. She’s a teenager now, guys, like it’s a revelation.

Do you find the character very relatable?

Jason Yaegashi: I do, I’m a father of a 15-year old and a 12-year old and I totally get it. I get the struggle, yeah.

Ryan Sands: Yeah, ’cause I think at the heart of it all, Geoffrey’s very protective, he loves his family, he genuinely loves his community, he does some really wild stuff from time to time. But at the heart of it, he’s someone who really cares about the people that are close to him and yeah, I can relate to that.

Rhenzy Feliz: Trying to find yourself, trying to understand who you are and where you belong necessarily. I think it’s all the things that a lot of people can relate to, especially the teenager. And even still now, I’m trying to figure out my life and who I am and what I like and what I don’t like and they have to do the same thing, but under the circumstances of them, you know, trying to survive, trying not to get thrown in jail for the kidnapping and murder of Destiny, you know.

That’s the start in the plot line in RUNAWAYS season 2. They find out their parents are murderers. Those kind of things are what makes this show kind of so fun, ’cause the stakes are so, are risen so high and so that’s kind of how I relate to him and just the general sense of understanding who you are as a person.

What was the most difficult scene to film in season one as an actor?

Lyrica Okano: The hardest scene was probably like the seance scene on the beach. I think that was like my second day of shooting out of the whole season and I was alone out there and we were kind of short for time since we were fighting with the sun. They wanted it to be exactly when you could see the sun setting. I think it was also because they got me, they were, “Alright, get to the, start building a fire,” and I was like, “how do you build a fire?” “Alright, do what you need to do, do the seance,” and I was like with no rehearsal, so it was pretty just kind of what I thought of doing at the moment. Yeah, I remember I was just really nervous for that scene.

Rhenzy Feliz: There’s two, I guess. In the pilot, kind of, when I was still trying to figure out Alex. I mean, I had a character that I understood, but with everything going on, that was, you know, my first time being a series regular and so yeah, it was kind of tough for me to just jump in and be Alex, you know, 24/7 or on set 24/7.

But, and then the other one was the Amy scene in episode eight, I believe, when he sort of comes out and tells her the truth, that he’s been harboring all this news the whole time. That’s kind of why the first episode was so hard because he kind of alludes to it. You see that he’s almost going to say it in a couple of different scenes. He feels like telling her what it is and he has to hold that back and so kind of knowing that knowledge was nice at the beginning and getting to play that out through the whole season was also very fun.

What about the easiest scene?

Lyrica Okano: I mean, any group scenes with the other Runaways were always easy. Everything is easier with them. It’s a good time, you know, chemistry’s flowing or whatever. I think all the group scenes were really pretty easy, a good time for me.

How do you work through being both this disloyal husband and also being a good father at the same time?

Jason Yaegashi: It’s not as distant of an idea as you might think. I think the break in the marriage is something that’s almost irreparable. Yet, there’s something that needs to be met for me to stay human. That’s where the affair comes in. That affair doesn’t necessarily mean that I don’t care about my family anymore. I continue to care and in fact, that’s the number one thing that I care about. So as we saw at the end of season one, Tina and I are attempting, we’re going to try to mend our marriage. I think in RUNAWAYS season 2, you get to see how these two are going to try to become a unit again.

RUNAWAYS season 2 debuts December 21st on Hulu!