It's official.. Marvel's new TV series is.. S.H.I.E.L.D!

[crimsonquill]

http://www.superherohype.com/news/articles/172437-joss-whedons-shield-comes-to-abc

It was revealed earlier this month that Joss Whedon had signed an exclusive deal with Marvel Studios to, among other things, help develop a new live action series for Marvel Television at ABC. Today, Deadline has revealed that, now greenlit by ABC, the series will be titled "S.H.I.E.L.D." and will focus on the top secret defense organization featured throughout the Marvel cinematic universe.

I'm very hopeful that this series would give Marvel Studios room to introduce other heroes into their movieverse which might not be big name enough to earn their own feature film. Plus it might allow them to test the waters with revamped characters which have fallen into limbo now that their rights are falling back into Marvel's hands (i.e. Daredevil, Fantastic Four, Blade, etc). I'd love to see them come up with an Avengers Initiative squad for the series which has them investigating superhuman activity allowing them for lots of cameos as well as featuring flashbacks of Agent Coulson, Black Widow, and Hawkeye in their earlier missions.

Guess we will have to see what happens for the 2013 Fall season.

[Mr. Hamrick]

Well, one hero that I fully expect to be in there is Ms. Marvel.  Could they introduce Wasp and Henry Pym through the series too?

http://www.superherohype.com/news/articles/172437-joss-whedons-shield-comes-to-abc

It was revealed earlier this month that Joss Whedon had signed an exclusive deal with Marvel Studios to, among other things, help develop a new live action series for Marvel Television at ABC. Today, Deadline has revealed that, now greenlit by ABC, the series will be titled "S.H.I.E.L.D." and will focus on the top secret defense organization featured throughout the Marvel cinematic universe.

I'm very hopeful that this series would give Marvel Studios room to introduce other heroes into their movieverse which might not be big name enough to earn their own feature film. Plus it might allow them to test the waters with revamped characters which have fallen into limbo now that their rights are falling back into Marvel's hands (i.e. Daredevil, Fantastic Four, Blade, etc). I'd love to see them come up with an Avengers Initiative squad for the series which has them investigating superhuman activity allowing them for lots of cameos as well as featuring flashbacks of Agent Coulson, Black Widow, and Hawkeye in their earlier missions.

Guess we will have to see what happens for the 2013 Fall season.

[catwhowalksbyhimself]

While I don't expect them to feature the big names from the movies, at least not very often, SHIELD is a big enough organization that it shouldn't be too hard for them to come up with a cast of characters.  If they do it right, it could be a very good things indeed.

[laughing paradox]

I would love some synergy with the show and the movies, so that a (super) character on the show could make a cameo in the Thor movie, or something along those lines.

I'm really interested to see what heroes they are going to have on the show. There's also bound to be a significant amount of villains on the show, so I hope they choose some interesting ones. I have a feeling Viper/Madame Hydra is going to be in there, with the Hydra ties and all from the movie.

[detourne_me]

This sounds great.  I wonder if Maria Hill will be leading the show as colbie smulders (sp?) is pretty comfortable with tv work.
I'd love to see the show go all steranko, with lots of agent 13, contessa, jimmy woo etc.  and I guess they could bring back coulson if it was a prequel.

I'm hoping scorpio and the zodiac are major enemies.

[Mr. Hamrick]

This sounds great.  I wonder if Maria Hill will be leading the show as colbie smulders (sp?) is pretty comfortable with tv work.
I'd love to see the show go all steranko, with lots of agent 13, contessa, jimmy woo etc.  and I guess they could bring back coulson if it was a prequel.

I'm hoping scorpio and the zodiac are major enemies.

I've pondered the Cobie question.  She's already part of the TV show "How I Met Your Mother" on CBS and I don't see her being written out of the series.  A recurring role would be possible.  She's signed on to 9 appearances as Maria Hill for Marvel films which is the same deal that Sam Jackson did as Nick Fury.  I'd say the odds are not very likely that she'd do both.

I'm actually thinking that they introduce Daisy Johnson as a primary character because she is the "current" executive director in the comics.  (from what I understand)  From there, the movie cast makes either cameo or recurring appearances.

[XStream]

Very excited to see where this goes!

On Coulson,

Spoiler

I really believe they missed the mark by not having him show up at the end of the movie. He could have popped into a scene with Fury on the Hellcarrier and everyone is surprised except Fury, who grins. Or he could have shown up as the heroes were dispersing and been like, "Yeah, sorry guys. Fury thought you needed the push. Cap, can I get that signature? Tony, tell Pepper we are good for lunch on Tuesday. Widow, Hawkeye here is your next assignment."

I still believe they will bring him back. I understand the need for his death in the movie, it was a plot device. But when they bring him back for this show or the next movie it will feel forced. When it could have been better done during Marvel's Avengers.[/color]

[BentonGrey]

Hey hey, that's cool.   This certainly has tons and tons of potential.  I agree with most of what's been said already, and I hope that Marvel will continue to live up to the standard of awesomeness they've set.

[JeyNyce]

I really do they test the waters with this show.  It would be a great tie-in to the Antman movie.

[thalaw2]

We may even get to see the one true Nick Fury, The Hoff!

[Podmark]

Certainly some potential with this idea. Here's hoping!

[crimsonquill]

Ms. Marvel (Carol Danvers) would be a perfect character to have as a pilot for SHIELD and somehow introduce her getting her powers at the hands of Kree technology. Plus I could definitely see Hank Pym and Janet Van Dyne be introduced as background or cameo appearance characters working/consulting for SHIELD as scientists before they become heroes themselves.

I agree that Hydra and Zodiac would be great regular villains for the show and probably even AIM since they are getting their debut in Iron Man 3.

As far as Coulson..

Spoiler

Looking closely at how careful that script writers for Marvel Studios have been with all of the Avengers tie-in movies.. something tells me that the Avengers DVD will include a cut scene or surprise alternate ending which has Coulson appearing with a line that nobody in SHIELD is stupid enough to face an enemy alone without a backup plan. Something along the lines of the line Fury used on Maria Hill during Civil War/Secret Invasion hinting that she should always use a life model decoy when she felt a gut instinct that she could be betrayed/killed.

It's just that the writers and Whedon made sure to insert the line "You have reached Tony Stark's life model decoy please leave a message if it's something urgent." when Coulson was calling Stark and before he entered in the elevator. I'm pretty sure that was a deliberate easter egg and foreshadow to what happened with Coulson in the final battle. It pretty much establishes that Stark is aware that SHIELD uses LMD's or might have even designed them for SHIELD knowing they used them way too much.

My guess is the studio probably had plans to reveal Coulson being alive at the end originally but decided to save it for another time or a SHIELD movie/series where they could explain LMD's in much better detail once they showed how he survived his "death" at the hands of Loki.

[JeyNyce]

All of you guys have great ideas as for what MIGHT happen during the TV show, but think about it for a moment.  It's a TV show.  They will not have the big budget like they would with movies.  Even though Disney is probably paying for it, I don't think they will going all out with special effects and stuff.  I hope I'm wrong, but I not going to get too excited just yet. 

[BlueBard]

SHIELD (not going to bother with the dots, use your imagination) didn't usually tackle superhuman villains, especially not the big guns of the Marvel U.  More likely to see them tangling with Hydra, AIM, other terrorist organizations, and megacorps gone bad with the occasional superhero appearance.  All kinds of room for minor Marvel characters to show up, along with a few that aren't superpowered or wouldn't need lots of CGI and SFX.

What's got me wondering is how they're going to handle Tony Stark/Iron Man and Nick Fury. 

Tony's always been very involved with SHIELD, but IM would need lots of CGI and I doubt they're going to get Robert Downey Jr.  Ditto for Samuel L. Jackson.  Cameos, maybe, but even that's iffy.

[XStream]

Jey and BB,

I had the same reactions at first, but then I started thinking of some of the groundbreaking scenes in 24, Lost, Falling Sky, and even No Ordinary Family or such. They could definately do a good TV show with the material. I hated the Knight Rider remake a few years back (with the RK Mustang), but there were some good CGI shots in the show (see the episode with K.A.R.R? He transforms!)

Anyway, one of the biggest summer flicks of all time is getting a television show spin-off, and Whedon is working on it... It really is hard not to get excited about this show.

[laughing paradox]

All of you guys have great ideas as for what MIGHT happen during the TV show, but think about it for a moment.  It's a TV show.  They will not have the big budget like they would with movies.  Even though Disney is probably paying for it, I don't think they will going all out with special effects and stuff.  I hope I'm wrong, but I not going to get too excited just yet.

Don't be a dream killer, you dream killer. Allow us to revel in the idea of a TV show with Ms Marvel and Cloak and Dagger and the New Warriors fighting the Masters of Evil, with SHIELD on the sidelines, even if it's not going to happen.

Of course, you are right, though. I'm sure they'll have some special effects going on, but nothing warranting the budget of a movie.

[catwhowalksbyhimself]

I would not be surprised, however, if they borrowed some effects from the movies.  Maybe you won't have RDJ playing Iron Man, but you may see him zoom overhead.

[BlueBard]

I wonder if they'll use Hawkeye and/or Black Widow, and whether they might recast.  Don't know about Jeremy Renner -- I'd never heard of him but it seems he's got an impressive list of credits -- but Scarlett Johansson is definitely big-ticket.

Recasting any of the main characters could be a risky proposition with more movies on the way.  But how the heck can you do SHIELD without Nick Fury and the Black Widow?

Fury could be pulled off with short cameos, I guess.  Hawkeye and Black Widow they could probably say are undercover somewhere.  But having Hawkeye would let them put Mockingbird in there, which would be cool.

[BlueBard]

More likely to see them tangling with Hydra, AIM, other terrorist organizations, and megacorps gone bad with the occasional superhero appearance. 

Aliens.  I forgot Aliens.  And don't we have lots of THOSE to choose from?

[catwhowalksbyhimself]

Remember SHIELD is a large organization.  Most of its agents never even see their director, Black Widow or any of those other specific things directly.  We'll probably focus on a small shield team made up of new agents pulled partly from the comics and partly original.

[Mr. Hamrick]

Personally, I'm not expecting SHIELD to be as big budget and effects laden as The Avengers.

What I am expecting is for some various concepts and characters to be introduced into the "Marvel Movie & TV Universe" and thus to mainstream audiences.  It is a given that all of us on this forum know what SHIELD is and know more or less about the various characters who are involved with them and groups who have fought against them.  However, mainstream audiences have had minimal exposure to much of SHIELD beyond the material presented in the IM, IM 2, Thor, Cap, and Avengers movies.  They were barely even mentioned in the Incredible Hulk movie. 

So, I expect to see AIM and Hydra introduced as SHIELD adversaries.  Key HYDRA and AIM agents will likely be introduced but not as regular villains and I don't expect an extensive amount of them to be introduced.  Viper, Taskmaster, Baron Zemo, and a few others at best with maybe the odd "merc type" here and there. 

And of course the main focus will be on SHIELD agents.  Will Barton and Romanov be in there?  Unless they get Renner and Scarlett to come in for a short story arc of episodes then I don't expect they will get much more than a mention.  Will Nick Fury be in there?  The only points I could see him being needed to show up is as a tie in to Avengers II.  There are other "senior agents" who can fill the same function that Fury would have.  Also, given that it IS Joss Whedon, I expect to see Ms. Marvel, Jessica Drew (original Spider Woman), Daisy Johnson, or some other high profile female Marvel character or two in there since Whedon likes having strong female characters in his work.  I wouldn't be surprised to see a few of Whedon's favorites actors and actresses to work with showing up either.  I'm just worried we are gonna see Summer Glau in a SHIELD uniform which could be bad news for the series.  (Not sure if anyone will get the joke there.  Sad thing is that I like Summer.) 

However, I don't see anything the scale of The Avengers.  It'd almost be counter-productive to even try to produce something that scale on a TV series.

[catwhowalksbyhimself]

I should add that Summer has been guest staring in Alphas which has done quite well for herself, but the Glau curse may be over.  Maybe.  We can only hope.

But yeah, I expect Hamrick has it about right.

[crimsonquill]

I'd expect something closer to Item 47 (agents sent out to deal with a threat or investigating an appearance of a new hero) but with a larger cast of reoccurring characters as SHIELD agents.

I'd really love to see Taskmaster show up on the villain side working for Hydra and then flip to join SHIELD so they can have Whedon's classic former villain who joins the good guys plot line.

- CQ

[Mr. Hamrick]

I'd expect something closer to Item 47 (agents sent out to deal with a threat or investigating an appearance of a new hero) but with a larger cast of reoccurring characters as SHIELD agents.

I'd really love to see Taskmaster show up on the villain side working for Hydra and then flip to join SHIELD so they can have Whedon's classic former villain who joins the good guys plot line.

- CQ

but did Taskmaster do that in the comics?  (sorry, i don't honestly recall.)

and yeah, hopefully the Glau curse is over.

though personally, I have it on good authority that Felicia Day looks hot in blue "spandex" (or whatever Cobie's outfit was made of in Avengers).  *smirks*

[crimsonquill]

but did Taskmaster do that in the comics?  (sorry, i don't honestly recall.)

Taskmaster went "mercenary for good" for awhile starting in Deadpool (where he adopted a different costume), then later was hired by SHIELD to train new heroes during Civil War/Secret Invasion, and pretty much remained a neutral character for awhile in various titles including Thunderbolts where he was hired by Luke Cage to help rehabilitate the inmates. Not sure what Taskmaster is currently up to in the current AvX story arc but since a cover I saw had him back in his old costume he probably is back to his old villain training ways again.

- CQ

[JeyNyce]

Here's a question for you guys: Have there been any new characters introduced in the Marvel comics recently?  I figure Marvel would put the character in the comics and then maybe put then in the show.  Then again they just might do the opposite, put them on the show and then in the comics.

[Cyber Burn]

Here's a question for you guys: Have there been any new characters introduced in the Marvel comics recently?  I figure Marvel would put the character in the comics and then maybe put then in the show.  Then again they just might do the opposite, put them on the show and then in the comics.

That's how we got Firestar if I remember correctly, and she's always been a favorite of mine.

[XStream]

BIG NEWS!!!!!

Spoiler

Clark Gregg will be headlining Marvel's SHIELD live-action television show as.... Agent Phil Coulson!!!!!

http://www.newsarama.com/tv/nycc-2012-marvel-tv-panel.html

[JeyNyce]

Great News, but that also mans that it takes place before the Avengers movie, During the 5 yrs before.

[Talavar]

Great News, but that also mans that it takes place before the Avengers movie, During the 5 yrs before.

Not necessarily...

Spoiler

Coulson could be revealed to not have died at all - the confirmation of his death is off-camera, and only reported by Nick Fury, known-manipulator, over the radio.  Maybe he actually pulled through.  Or the internet favourite theory - the Coulson we saw die was a life model decoy.