Milana Vayntrub Finally Gets To Be Squirrel Girl In A New Marvel Podcast
Marvel is officially launching a scripted "Squirrel Girl" podcast, with Milana Vayntrub ("Other Space," "This Is Us") assuming the titular role. Vayntrub was initially cast as Squirrel Girl in a live-action TV series called "New Warriors" that was ordered straight to series at Freeform in 2017, but the show unfortunately was axed before it even debuted.
According to Variety, the six-episode podcast series, backed by broadcasting company SiriusXM, will be titled "Marvel's Squirrel Girl: The Unbeatable Radio Show," chronicling the adventures of Squirrel Girl, who is now a college girl and has been revealed as a superhero in the public eye. While I'm not sure how well a visual-centric medium will be translated into a compelling audio-only adventure, this project might just end up hitting the right notes and amplifying Squirrel Girl as a Marvel superhero on a mainstream level.
The adventures of Doreen Green
Serving as a continuation of "The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl," the comic book series by Ryan North, the upcoming Marvel podcast will see Doreen Green tackling new threats by relying on her allies, possibly including major superheroes such as Iron Man and Spider-Man.
According to the comics, Doreen underwent gene modification for reasons undisclosed, which granted her squirrel-like abilities (including a tail), along with the ability to communicate with squirrels. While this might seem like a mild superpower, Doreen had actually managed to save Iron Man from Doctor Doom by unleashing a group of squirrels who chewed through the wires of the spacecraft Iron Man was captured in.
The podcast is being produced by Radio Point and directed by Giovanna Sardelli. Interestingly, this is the second time Vayntrub will be lending her voice to the title character, since she previously voiced Squirrel Girl in the "Marvel Rising" franchise. Other voice performances apart from Vayntrub's include Crystal Lucas Perry (Nancy Whitehead), Leo Sheng (Koi Boi), Davied Morales (Chipmunk Hunk), Erica Schroeder (Tippy T. Squirrel), Tina Benko (Rachel Oskar), and Peter Hermann (Brain Drain).
The official description for the "Squirrel Girl" podcast is as follows:
"Squirrel Girl has taken down Thanos and Doctor Doom — but now she faces something far more terrifying... living authentically. The new series follows Empire State University college student, Doreen Green, who has recently been outed as a super hero — The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl!
Hoping to unify her personas in the public eye, Squirrel Girl has created a new student radio show on ESU's own college station. With the help of her best girl-friend, Nancy Whitehead as producer, and her best squirrel-friend, Tippy-Toe in the booth; Doreen is ready to help more people than ever with her greatest super hero advice. And when the going get rough, she can always lean on her heroic friends: Iron Man, Spider-Man, Chipmunk Hunk, Koi Boi, and Brain Drain.
However, with a call-in show comes caller anonymity, and not all the folks on the line want help – some want to crime – and crime hard! When a suspicious caller wreaks havoc on New York City, Squirrel Girl and her friends will have to put their heroics to the test and prove that once and for all Doreen Green is the unbeatable Squirrel Girl."
The first episode of "Marvel's Squirrel Girl: The Unbeatable Radio Show" is currently available for streaming on all major platforms. Future episodes will premiere exclusively on the SXM app and Marvel Podcasts Unlimited a week ahead of its official release on major podcast platforms, including Pandora and Stitcher.