Marvel TV Series Cancelled For Being “Too Gay”

This Marvel series was axed by one exec for being "too gay."

By Doug Norrie | Updated

This article is more than 2 years old

new warriors squirrel girl

Well, this might be a new one. Apparently, a planned Marvel series was canceled, but not for a reason we hear all that often. Though it is just speculation on the part of the series creator, there is a claim now that New Warriors wasn’t to the liking of certain executives. That’s because, as creator Kevin Biegel said, the show and specifically the character of Squirrel Girl was “too gay” to put on the air. It is a bold claim about the fate of the series which won’t see the light of day. Whether that is the actual reason isn’t totally clear, but Biegel did have some other interesting things to say about what happened with New Warriors. 

The claim by Kevin Biegel originally came in the form of now-deleted tweets that had him venting some about the fate of New Warriors. He ended up taking down the tweets in question, but some folks were able to screenshot them and put them back together within the timeline of what he was talking about. In one he references the character of Squirrel Girl with some behind-the-scenes looks at costumes and such. In some others, he talks about the machinations and people responsible for canceling the series. Check out some of what he wrote below. 

You can see in the tweets above what Kevin Biegel was saying about how the show New Warriors was axed and why. According to him, a single executive was responsible for the show’s demise with the latter saying the proclivities of the main character, Squirrel Girl specifically, just rubbed this executive the wrong way. Biegel doesn’t name names, but other sources have said the person has since been fired. 

Some of this New Warriors news is known. The show was canceled all the way back in 2019. The tweets from Kevin Biegel were of the venting variety, saying that it still kept him up at night thinking about what could have been with the program. Sharing the photos from the set and some of his frustrations was possibly originally meant to be cathartic, though the backlash comes from the claims about why the show was actually canceled. It is for that reason that he took down the tweets in question. He even joked that he let Ryan Reynolds take over his account for the evening. 

New Warriors originally began development all the way back in 2017. The comic book group was first introduced back in the late 80s and over the years has had an extensive lineup of heroes, mostly trending on the younger side. This live-action series was going to include Milana Vayntrub as Squirrel Girl, Derek Theler as Mister Immortal, Jeremy Tardy as Night Thrasher, Calum Worthy as Speedball, Kate Comer as Debrii, and Matthew Moy as Microbe.  It was set to air on Freeform. 

But that was all axed a couple of years ago and New Warriors wasn’t able to find another home for its story. There are currently no plans for Squirrel Girl or any of the other characters to find homes in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Never say never on these kinds of things, but for now, the series is shuttered.