Marvel Studios and Freeform’s forthcoming series Marvel’s Cloak & Dagger, about two superpowered teenagers bound to one another by their powers of light and darkness, has cast its leads: Former Disney Channel star Olivia Holt (Kickin’ It, I Didn’t Do It) will play Tandy Bowen (a.k.a. Dagger), while Aubrey Joseph (HBO’s The Night Of) will portray Tyrone Johnson (a.k.a. Cloak).
The duo have popped up all over the Marvel comics universe since their debut in Peter Parker, the Spectacular Spider-Man in 1982, asking the X-Men for advice and showing up to help the Runaways (who are getting their own TV series). Marvel shared the synopsis, as well as character descriptions for the series’ leads:
Marvel’s Cloak & Dagger is a coming-of-age series based on the beloved Marvel characters. Tandy Bowen and Tyrone Johnson come from starkly different backgrounds, each growing up with a secret they never dared share with another soul. Tandy can emit light daggers and Tyrone has the ability to engulf others in darkness. They quickly learn they are better together than apart—but their feelings for each other make their already complicated world even more challenging.
Once a privileged little girl, Tandy Bowen watched as her family was destroyed by a disastrous storm that uprooted her life. Now in her late teens, an unexpected encounter with a boy named Tyrone sparks a life changing event.
Young Tyrone Johnson wanted nothing more than to prove he was fearless. But when everything he held close was taken away, life taught Tyrone to be afraid. Now older and more sheltered, Tyrone closes himself off. But when he meets a girl named Tandy his life changes forever.
“The characters of Tandy and Tyrone have always stood out to me ever since I first met them in the pages of Marvel comics when I was a boy,” showrunner and executive producer Joe Pokaski said in the press release. “When Olivia and Aubrey read for the roles, these characters leapt off the page. We’re so excited to see what these talented young actors bring to the Marvel Universe.” Jeph Loeb, head of Marvel Television and executive producer, added, “Marvel is delighted to have found our Cloak and Dagger. Olivia Holt and Aubrey Joseph encompass the true essence of the characters and we are excited for the audience to see them in these roles.”
Last week, writer/director Gina Prince-Bythewood (Love & Basketball, Beyond the Lights, An Untamed State) joined the project. No release date has yet been set.