Writer Ryan North returns to The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl. With actress Milana Vayntrub, of those infamous AT&T commercials, voicing the character.
The beloved Marvel comic The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl is getting a surprise sequel in podcast form. Marvel’s Squirrel Girl: The Unbeatable Radio Show! is a scripted podcast released by Marvel Entertainment and SiriusXM radio. Available on all podcasting platforms, this six-episode podcast is written by veteran Squirrel Girl comics writer Ryan North, and directed by acclaimed theatre director Giovanna Sardelli. With original music by Justin Huertas and Steven Tran.
In a shock to fans, the podcast series actually sees actress Milana Vayntrub voice the character of Doreen Green, AKA Squirrel Girl. Having already played Doreen in the “Marvel Rising” animated series, Vayntrub was actually originally casted to play as Squirrel Girl in Freeform’s live-action superhero adaptation. At least, before the New Warriors show became officially canceled.
Squirrel Girl: The Unbeatable Radio Show features performances by Crystal Lucas-Perry (Nancy Whitehead), Davied Morales (Chipmunk Hunk), Peter Hermann (Brain Drain), Erica Schroeder (Tippy T. Squirrel), Tina Benko (Rachel Oskar), and Leo Sheng (Koi Boi). It should also be noted that Koi Boi, the first-ever transgender superhero in comics, is being played by a queer trans man.
As reported in Marvel’s Squirrel Girl press release, the plot for the series 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 superhero – 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 girlfriend, 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 superhero advice. And when the going gets 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.”
In an exclusive with Variety, Vayntrub had this to say about returning to the character:
“Doreen has an optimism that’s not based in naiveté. Her optimism is grounded in fairness and trust and justice. I think she — like me and in a way, she’s more of who I want to be like — really believes there is good in all people and that justice is not punishment, but justice is restorative and it’s about people taking accountability and it’s becoming better versions of themselves. People do harm because they are lacking in resources or in love in some way. And she is hilarious because of her honesty and her bluntness and her ability to see the best in people. It’s more of who I want to be like, and I feel like, after a few hours of playing her, I like channel her and then can bring that into my life.”
Fans of the comics should be happy to see that Squirrel Girl’s still the super-positive and fun-loving character that fans have grown to love. Atop of this, North has also released an exclusive Squirrel Girl vertical comic on Marvel Unlimited. All for a Squirrel Girl one-shot prequel to the podcast.
About returning to the series years after his four-year run on Squirrel Girl, writer Ryan North had said, “For me, a lot of the fun of the project initially was getting to work in a new medium, one where everything that happened had to be communicated through sound. Of course, once we started recording, my favorite part was hearing the actors bring these characters to life. Milana and Crystal are Doreen and Nancy, and the way Leo and Davied and Peter brought Koi Boi, Chipmunk Hunk, and Brain Drain to life was just exceptional.” North continues, “The podcast continues right where the comics left off, so long-time fans will feel instantly at home, but it’s also built for new people who maybe have never encountered the world of the Unbeatable Squirrel Girl before.”
Episode one of Marvel’s Squirrel Girl: The Unbeatable Radio Show! is available right now. For those with the SXM App or a subscription to Marvel Podcasts Unlimited, there is also bonus content, including an early sneak peek of the second episode, “Spider-Sense Didn’t Even Tingle” along with behind-the-scenes work with Vayntrub and Lucas-Perry.
