'Runaways' Star On Whether It Ties Into 'Doctor Strange'

We're now under three weeks away from seeing Runaways debut in live action on Hulu. The show has been announced as a part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe but if we've learned anything from Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. or any of the Netflix shows, that doesn't mean it's all that connected.

The thing with Runaways, however, is that the show is set to showcase a character and prop that debuted in Doctor Strange over a year ago. If you recall, several Masters of the Mystic Arts gathered at the Sanctum in Hong Kong in an attempt to stop Kaecilius' (Mads Mikkelsen) plan of bringing Dormammu to Earth.

In the moments leading up to that scene, we saw several of those involved in the mystic arts picking out their choice weapons, including a character credited as Tina Minoru (Linda Louise Duan) picking up the Staff of One.

With Tina's daughter Nico (Lyrica Okano), the show has a prime opportunity to make a connecting between movies and television. Actress Brittany Ishibashi — who's been cast in the role previously played by Duan in Doctor Strange — spoke to Screen Rant to discuss potential connections, if any.

"[Laughs] Um…Nico's into Wicca. Yeah. The Staff of One is prominent. I don't know what I can say. I… I… Maybe?…" Ishibashi said when asked whether or not her character would mention the events of Doctor Strange.

Of course with Marvel's traditional iron clad privacy rules in place, it's a bit silly to expect cast members to drop an "It's All Connected" bombshell in a press junket. Ishibashi did mention, however, she has seen Doctor Strange.

"Yeah. [Laughs] And searched online for all the stuff that I could find that was like edited or like cut out. Pictures of the Staff. All that stuff."

Although it's Marvel's first foray onto Hulu, the majority of advanced reviews have cast the show in a light of positivity. Runaways is currently at 92% on the review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes and ComicBook.com's very own Joseph Schmidt praised the show, saying it might be Marvel's best show to date.