‘Runaways’ Star Gregg Sulkin Reveals Comic Book Change That Relieved Him

Comic book adaptations often try to cast actors who look similar to the illustrations, and the “Runaways” cast actually looks a lot like the drawings in the Marvel graphic novels. However, Gregg Sulkin’s character Chase is a little different.

“My character changed a lot just because like, one, I don’t have blonde hair, which by the way, I’m so happy about. I’m so happy I got to keep my hair, love it,” Sulkin told a small group of reporters, including International Business Times, at New York Comic Con with a chuckle.

It seems Sulkin isn’t opposed to a little bit of blonde. He debuted some highlights at the “Runaways” premiere earlier this month.

However, he revealed that it isn’t just the hair that changed. Chase is also much brighter in Hulu’s new TV show than he was in the Marvel comics. “I think we got to dive into things a little deeper,” the British actor added. “We just made Chase a lot more intelligent, not just like a dumb jock. We’ve made him a 2017 jock. I think if you go to schools these days, you’ll see that like stereotypes and labels are, hopefully, becoming less of a thing.”

Upon seeing the first three episodes of “Runaways,” which were released Tuesday on Hulu, it’s clear that Chase has changed the most. Though he still needs some tutoring, he is much brighter and even seems to be on his way to inventing things like his father Victor Stein (played by James Marsters). Of course, emulating the parents on this show isn’t necessarily a good thing.

“Marvel’s Runaways” follows a group of teenagers whose parents all work together on a charity. When the kids spy on the charity meeting, they see their parents murder somebody. The adults are evil, and the teens have to figure out how to handle it.

Of the six teenage characters, Chase is probably the one who has changed the most from the comics, but the “Faking It” alum still made sure to read the comics. However, he waited until he booked the gig to start researching.

“We’ve all read the comics now,” Sulkin told IBT. “I only read it once I booked the job. I didn’t want to jinx it. I didn’t want to get too, ‘Oh I love this thing,’ and someone else got it. I would’ve been very annoyed. So I decided to get it and then enjoy it, sit on my couch and be like, ‘Oh, I’m actually going to be in this. This is cool.’”

Hulu releases new episodes of “Runaways” Season 1 on Tuesdays.