Nothing is safe from Disney’s content purge as an acclaimed Marvel series vanishes into the ether

Just when you thought the Disney content purge had placed all of its cards on the table, an acclaimed Marvel series quietly vanishes without any warning. While it wasn’t exactly a smash hit on the same level as the cinematic universe’s original shows, Runaways did manage to cultivate a strong fandom of its own.

Over the course of three seasons and 33 episodes, critics and audiences alike fell in love with the adventures of a teenage cabal of superheroes who discovered that their parents were members of a nefarious organization known as Pride. Rebelling against both authority and their own flesh and blood, the heroes head off on the run and set out to forge their own destiny.

An 84 percent Rotten Tomatoes score underlined that it was a seriously above average adaptation of its source material, but airing on Hulu didn’t do it any favors. Not that the streaming service isn’t a major platform, but it didn’t quite have the reach it does now between Runaways‘ November 2017 premiere and the airing of its final episode in December of 2019.

You’d have thought – or maybe hoped more than anything – that Disney Plus would have opened it up to an entirely new audience, but instead it’s been allowed to disappear from both streamers entirely. The writers behind The Princess are concerned that nobody will ever be able to see their hard work again, but at least Runaways remains available on other on-demand outlets like iTunes, so it’s not a complete exile.