It's finally here, and it's finally official! ABC has given the series order on Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Viewers can get their first look at the new series this coming Sunday during the season finale of Once Upon a Time. Starring Clark Gregg – who reprises his role as Agent Phil Coulson – Ming-Na Wen, Brett Dalton, Iain De Caestecker, Elizabeth Henstridge and Chloe Bennet, Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. will debut in the U.S. TV and Philippine TV soon after. The cast photo was released just this morning, and it sure did create this buzz of excitement! [read the rest of the article after the jump]
Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. is developed by Joss Whedon, in collaboration with Jed Whedon and Maurissa Tancharoen, based on the Marvel Comics organization S.H.I.E.L.D. It will be produced by Marvel Television, air on the ABC network, and will be set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, sharing continuity with the films in that franchise. The series will revolve around the character of Phil Coulson, with Clark Gregg reprising the role. A pilot, written by Joss Whedon, Jed Whedon and Maurissa Tancharoen, and directed by Joss Whedon, was given the green-light in late 2012 and filmed in early 2013.
Clark Gregg reprises his role of Agent Phil Coulson from Marvel’s feature films as he assembles a small, highly select group of Agents from the worldwide law-enforcement organization known as S.H.I.E.L.D. Together they investigate the new, the strange, and the unknown across the globe, protecting the ordinary from the extraordinary. Coulson’s team consists of Agent Grant Ward (Brett Dalton), highly trained in combat and espionage, Agent Melinda May (Ming-Na Wen) expert pilot and martial artist, Agent Leo Fitz (Iain De Caestecker); brilliant engineer and Agent Jemma Simmons (Elizabeth Henstridge) genius bio-chemist. Joining them on their journey into mystery is new recruit and computer hacker Skye (Chloe Bennet). From Executive Producers Joss Whedon (“Marvel’s The Avengers,” ”Buffy the Vampire Slayer”); Jed Whedon & Maurissa Tancharoen, “Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.” pilot co-writers (“Dollhouse,” “Dr.Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog”); Jeffrey Bell (“Angel,” “Alias”); and Jeph Loeb (“Smallville”) comes Marvel’s first TV series. “Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.” is produced by ABC Studios and Marvel Television.
J. August Richards, one of the stars of Whedon's 1999 series Angel, was also cast in the pilot, though his role was not specified.
NEW SUPERHEROES & VILLAIN CAMEOS?
EW asked Feige if we could see some as-yet-unused heroes pop up in the show, and he sounded optimistic:
“If that works the way everyone expects it to work I think that would open up another avenue, another outlet for some of those characters,” Feige acknowledes. “Maybe they guest star, I don’t know. I think they’re avoiding the cameo of the week on that show, which is very smart.”
Speaking of cameo of the week, it’s difficult to imagine the entirety of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. taking place without at least some acknowledgement of the film characters, and while we’ve heard that Cobie Smulders will probably be popping up, Iron Man himself Robert Downey Jr. was asked point-blank if he would consider appearing on Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. in character, to which he replied:
“You know what? There’s no telling. I am open to everything.”
