The "Is Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. canon?" debate rages on. Brad Winderbaum, Head of Marvel Television and Animation, recently addressed whether Marvel Studios considers the beloved ABC superheroes series part of the official sacred timeline.
Although initially billed as the first television series set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Marvel Studios never properly acknowledged S.H.I.E.L.D., despite the show including numerous tie-ins to the theatrical movies during its first three seasons. While Winderbaum didn't provide an exact confirmation or denial during his interview with Screen Rant, he did share that he had spent a considerable amount of time pondering the question. "Well, I'll tell you this, and put it to you like this. It's exciting for me to think about how to square those ABC shows with the canon," he remarked. "That, to me, if you know me and the way my brain works, that is fun territory to imagine."
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Until WandaVision premiered on Disney+ in 2021, none of the previous television series that claimed to be connected to the MCU were actually developed by Marvel Studios, meaning that connections to the shared universe were always one-sided. However, Marvel has always expressed a willingness to bring the pre-WandaVision shows into the MCU proper, such as when James D'Arcy returned to portray Edwin Jarvis (a role he originated in ABC's Agent Carter) in the 2019 movie, Avengers: Endgame.
The biggest canon retcon came in late 2023 when Marvel Studios officially acknowledged that the events of Netflix's Defenders Saga -- Daredevil, Jessica Jones, Luke Cage, Iron Fist, The Defenders, and The Punisher -- took place on the sacred MCU timeline. This has opened the door for more than just Charlie Cox's Matt Murdock/Daredevil and Vincent D'Onofrio's Wilson Fisk/Kingpin (who had already reappeared in the MCU prior to this decision) to return. Winderbaum confirmed as much earlier this week, when he told The Hollywood Reporter that "you never know where characters are going to pop up next."
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Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Stars Remain Open to MCU Return
If Marvel Studios does decide to officially make S.H.I.E.L.D. canon, several of the show's stars are ready to return to the MCU. In April 2024, Phil Coulson actor Clark Gregg noted that "[Coulson isn't dead] in every timeline," hinting that anything is possible when Marvel is "playing in a multiverse scenario." Around the same time, Jeff Ward, who joined the ABC series in its later seasons as Deke Shaw, shared that he was open to reprising his S.H.I.E.L.D. role, but only if he was still "in charge of S.H.I.E.L.D., because that's where we last left him, so he'd have to be in charge."
While Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. eventually reestablished S.H.I.E.L.D. after it was dissolved following the events of 2014's Captain America: The Winter Soldier, no other MCU project has ever mentioned the spy organization. Instead, Marvel Studios has introduced new agencies like S.W.O.R.D. that fulfill a similar role that S.H.I.E.L.D. played in the earlier MCU.
All seven seasons of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. are available to stream on Disney+.
Source: Screen Rant
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Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.
Sci-Fi
Action
Adventure
Superhero
The missions of the Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division.
Release Date September 24, 2013
Cast Ming-Na Wen , Brett Dalton , Chloe Bennet , Clark Gregg , Elizabeth Henstridge , Iain De Caestecker , Henry Simmons
Rating
Seasons 7
Creator
Producer
Production Company
Story By Jack Kirby
Writers Jed Whedon , Maurissa Tancharoen , Joss Whedon
Network ABC
Franchise(s) Marvel , Marvel Cinematic Universe
Directors Kevin Tancharoen , Jesse Bochco , Billy Gierhart , Vincent Misiano , Garry A. Brown
Showrunner Jed Whedon
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