Gina Prince-Bythewood and Joe Pokaski are the director and showrunner of one of the most anticipated shows of the year, Cloak & Dagger. The two swung by WonderCon to chat with members of the press before unveiling the pilot to thousands of wonderful fans. Here are some brief highlights and their interviews:
Working with Freeform
Many fans and critics alike were wondering what it was like having a superhero show on a channel such as Freeform. Would any idea by too taboo or stifled? Well according to Joe, they actually had a lot of range with which to work with. Freeform actually encouraged them to really tap into difficult and challenging subjects and the show is all the better for it. It also makes the show way more relatable because they were able to get rid of some of the more problematic aspects fo the source material and fill it in with relevant subject matter.
On How Cloak & Dagger Fits in Gina’s Filmography
Gina is beloved by many and it’s neat to see her tackle a superhero show. She mentioned that she was fascinated by these two teens, a white girl and a black boy, who in the entire world, these two are connected in a spiritual way. Gina also spoke about how as the mother of two black boys and as a woman, she wanted to see more heroes that looked like her sons and give the world more female superheroes.
Joe on Costumes
I asked Joe whether or not we would get to see the costumes from the comics and Joe said that we will be able to see how he feels about costumes through the duration of the series. Having seen the pilot, I can confirm that Joe and Gina really did something special with this. You won’t see them in their comic costumes but the various nods to them are spectacular.
The Visuals Must Be as Good as the Story
Gina mentioned during the roundtable that even though this is a TV show, she wanted it to have a film look because you don’t want audiences to tune out because the effects are bad. She worked alot with Joe to develop the visual style that would work for the show and showcase the powers in a cool way. Joe also spoke about the visuals, but more in terms of the location. The show is set in New Orleans and is shot on location there which gives the show an interesting and rich feel.
Full Gina Interview
Full Joe Interview
Stay Tuned for more Cloak & Dagger material this weekend as I share the video of the main actors!