Marvel Rising: Secret Warriors – Red Carpet Premiere

What IS Marvel Rising: Secret Warriors?

If you’re like me, this Marvel Rising TV show and film came out of the blue. I received an invite to a Red Carpet Premiere for Marvel Rising: Secret Warriors, and had NO idea what it was. But it sounded intriguing. Here’s a synopsis:

Marvel Rising is actually a multi-platform animated franchise. The series began with 6 animated shorts on Marvel HQ YouTube Channel called “Marvel Rising: Initiation”. You can watch those right now! These will be followed by an 80-minute animated film – “Marvel Rising: Secret Warriors” premiering on Disney Channel and Disney XD simultaneously this Sunday, September 30, at 10:00 p.m. EDT/PDT. To top that off, Hasbro figures featuring each character will be available at your local Target staring October 1st.

But what is it about? The show follows a young, new group of mostly female super heroes as they learn about their powers and each other, and eventually form a team.  Ms. Marvel and Squirrel Girl are two friends who have found themselves with super powers after a terrigen mist passed over their neighborhood. They interact with Inferno, Falcon, America Chavez and even Captain Marvel. The heroes are mostly high school age, and have to juggle school and parents with fighting crime and training. 

The series has a HUGE focus on inclusivity, empowerment and reliability for tweens. During two years of development, executive producers Cort Lane and Sana Amanat worked with the Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media to develop Marvel Rising into a ground-breaking series. Focus groups of moms and kids helped create the overall look of each character, as well as various storylines. Marvel Rising is the next generation of Marvel heroes for the next generation of Marvel fans!

Red Carpet Recap

Superheroes? Animation? Inclusivity and empowerment? I’m in! I headed to the Red Carpet on September 27th in Glendale, and was able to talk with executive producer Cort Lane (who is also the Senior Vice President of Animation and Family Entertainment at Marvel) about the inception of this show.

Since this show follows a lot of female characters, I was really interested to talk with one of the women in charge of this show. Luckily co-executive Producer Sana Amanat was also on hand to describe her role behind the scenes.

Meet The Characters and their Voice Actors on the Red Carpet

Ms. Marvel (aka Kamala Khan)

Kathreen Khavari is SUPER-excited to play Ms. Marvel, a character that looks like her, has a similar background, and will be an influence on a younger generation.

Squirrel Girl (aka Doreen Green)

Milana Vayntrub (yes the AT&T girl) is delightful! She is the voice of Squirrel Girl in Marvel Rising: Secret Warriors – a character who is as funny as Milana. She is the comic relief in many scenes, yet still has a fascinating character trajectory. And Squirrel Girl, though animated, has big thighs!! She is so relatable and I will go more into the power of that in my review. Let’s listen in to our Red Carpet conversation, where Milana gets candid with what it’s like growing up as a teen girl, and how we both would’ve liked a series like Marvel Rising while growing up.

Inferno (aka Dante Pertuz)

Inferno is a lone wolf character, on the run. He is voiced by Tyler Posey (Teen Wolf, incidentally) and was a joy to talk to. He is full of energy and gave us some insight into why he’s always playing villains and why he loves being a part of this show.

Patriot (a.k.a. Rayshaun Lucas)

Kamil McFadden provides the voice of Patriot, a young man following in the  rather large footsteps of Captain America. He strives to maintain Cap’s legacy of honor, integrity and order. Kamil is excited to portray a black super hero and spoke to me about that on the Red Carpet.

Exile (a.k.a. Victor Kohl)

BooBoo Stewart voices Exile, a character whose quest for superiority places him in the wrong crowd. BooBoo, however, is charming and talked with us about how all the voice actors were able to record together in the recording studio.

When and Where Can I Watch?

You can watch Marvel Rising: Initiation RIGHT NOW! Each episode is about 22 minutes. Here’s the first one to get you started:

The 80-minute film – “Marvel Rising: Secret Warriors” premieres on Disney Channel and Disney XD simultaneously this Sunday, September 30, at 10:00 p.m. EDT/PDT. Set your DVR’s, download the Disney XD or the Disney Channel App, and add it to your playlist!!