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

[catwhowalksbyhimself]

More about this announcement, with some hints that it was indeed a lmd.

http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=article&id=41604

And the rest of the characters:

http://tvline.com/2012/10/01/joss-whedon-s-h-i-e-l-d-casting/

[JeyNyce]

That's great news.  I'm glad I was wrong about Coulson.

[Mr. Hamrick]

I've been curious about the timeline of the series since the announcement of it.  With the news that

Spoiler

Coulson lives and will be headlining the series

, I'm getting even more curious.

a) Will the series directly tie into the movies, specifically Avengers I and II? Before anyone goes off, hear me out on this.  It doesn't "have" to.  It could very easily be what happened prior to the events of the first Iron Man film.  Furthermore, it could be events running parallel to the movies prior to Avengers.  My point here is that there are ways that this could be made something that runs parallel to the movies with the only direct tie-in being Coulson.

b) But that guy is there, that is a direct tie in.  Yes, and the only one that has been confirmed.  There has been nothing said about the series being part of a set-up for a second Avengers or even events just prior to The Avengers.  Note: how much of a timeframe was being covered between the events of Iron Man, Thor, Iron Man II, and the END of Captain America (after Steve woke in the SHIELD room in NYC).  Personally, I've been hoping that the series will allow for the introduction of a few new Marvel heroes into the "Marvel live-action film and tv world".  I want to see them introduce other elements of the SHIELD lore (HYDRA, AIM, etc) into the mix as well as characters.  I would love to see some Marvel heroes and villains introduced into the mix and then put into Avengers II.  (I'm thinking Ms. Marvel, Henry Pym, Ultron, Taskmaster, Jessica Drew, Wasp for a few.)

c) How long is that guy going to be there for?  Here is a fun question.  The second Avengers movie comes out in 2014.  Could the first season be a combination of stuff from before the first film and just after?  There is usually a mid-season hiatus these days with most series, especially on the networks.   So it is possible that this could be the plan.  However, it sounds like Whedon is committed to having that guy has the backbone of the series.  Another interesting thought is that with Cobie Smulders possibly ending her run on "How I Met Your Mother" this season, it could free her up to jump to the SHIELD series.  She has signed on for seven Marvel projects which is the same amount that Sam Jackson did. 

[catwhowalksbyhimself]

Apparently more recent announcements have confirmed that Coulson will be the main character, that the series take place in the movie universe, and that it takes place after the Avengers movie.

[BentonGrey]

Ohh heck yeah!  I would watch the HECK out of that show!  I'm definitely in!

[catwhowalksbyhimself]

Oh, I forgot to mention that shooting on the pilot is scheduled to begin in January, so the show, should it be picked up, and why wouldn't it be, would air next fall.

[Mr. Hamrick]

Oh, I forgot to mention that shooting on the pilot is scheduled to begin in January, so the show, should it be picked up, and why wouldn't it be, would air next fall.

I'm pretty sure that the pilot will be picked up.   If that is the case then it will definitely be lead up to The Avengers II.  I'd venture a guess that one or two characters from the show will appear in the movie or a character who will be in the movie will debut on the show.   I'd not be surprised to see a vet like Ming Na jump between the two as she has the "name value" to do it.  (She was in the Oscar nominated Joy Luck Club and on the TV series ER.  I'm gonna forget her involvement in the awful Street Fighter film.)  If you are not aware of what I am talking about then go here:http://insidetv.ew.com/2012/10/24/joss-whedon-shield-ming-na/

It's going to be interesting to see how they expand the Marvel Movie-verse with this series.

[JeyNyce]

I'm pretty sure the show will get picked up.  I'm just wondering, since it will probably be on ABC and Disney will be backing the show will they have RDJ or anybody else guest star on the show?

[catwhowalksbyhimself]

I doubt he'd do an actual guest spot, but they'd have access to the footage from the movies, might be able to get him to do a scene while filming one of the movies, plus they could probably get their hands on the suit if they wanted to do Iron Man without RDJ.

[Talavar]

I doubt he'd do an actual guest spot, but they'd have access to the footage from the movies, might be able to get him to do a scene while filming one of the movies, plus they could probably get their hands on the suit if they wanted to do Iron Man without RDJ.

Uh, Robert Downey Jr. was recently in a Call of Duty commercial.  I bet he'd show up in the series once or twice.

[bearded]

what occurs to me is how often do you read an avengers and never actually see tony? all iron man, that could work, with a little voicework.

[Talavar]

what occurs to me is how often do you read an avengers and never actually see tony? all iron man, that could work, with a little voicework.

The issue with that is Iron Man FX are expensive for a TV show's budget.  I could actually see later Avengers sequels potentially going that way, if/when RDJ gets tired of a starring role in them.

[catwhowalksbyhimself]

What FX?  They have a working suit, just have some other guy walking around with it in the background.  Boom, instant cameo.

I doubt they'd have any action scenes or anything.  The most he'd likely do is fly overhead, or talk a bit.  For the former, they could always reuse movie footage, or movie fx.

[Talavar]

Sure, if he's just standing there, it's not really FX intensive.  I maintain that an actual Robert Downey Jr cameo isn't out of the question either.

[Tomato]

Ummmm... you DO realise 90% of the shots of tony in armor since IM1 are pretty much all cgi right? Even the basic dialogue scenes are the actors in masks, gloves, and mocap suits.

[catwhowalksbyhimself]

Shots of the sets for IM2 have show actual armor being used, so it does exist, even if they prefer not to use it.

[catwhowalksbyhimself]

Big bump here, but the show's now been official picked up (no shock there) the advertising campaign is already well under way, and early previews intriguingly show a superpowered character who many believe to Luke Cage.  Looks to be an action version of X Files in a world of superheroes pretty much, which is exactly the sort of thing I was hoping for.

[Shogunn2517]

Good bump, Cat.  In case anyone haven't been paying attention, ABC has picked up Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. potentially for their fall lineup.  Additionally, it has also hit social media as well on FB and Twitter(Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. and #coulsonlives respectively).  There you can find the link to the preview that was just shown during the last break of today's showing of "Once Upon A Time".

Here's the official synopsis:

Spoiler

Agent Phil Coulson (Clark Gregg) returns to the worldwide law enforcement organization S.H.I.E.L.D. He puts together a small, highly trained, team of Agents to tackle the cases that haven't been classified yet, the new, the strange and the unknown. That team consists of straight arrow Agent Grant Ward (Brett Dalton), an expert in combat and espionage; pilot and martial artist Agent Melinda May (Ming-Na Wen); and brilliant if socially awkward scientists Agent Leo Fitz (Iain De Caestecker) and Agent Jemma Simmons (Elizabeth Henstridge). They'll be joined by civilian new recruit and computer hacker Skye (Chloe Bennet). Prepare for an epic adventure that showcases the hope and wonder of the human spirit. This is a world of Super Heroes, aliens and the unusual – of action, spectacle and world spanning stories. The show will speak to the human condition through the lens of our very human, non-powered S.H.I.E.L.D agents – that together we are greater than we are apart, and that we can make a difference in the world.

The series will star lark Gregg, Ming-Na Wen, Elizabeth Henstridge, Iain De Caestecker, Brett Dalton, Chloe Bennet and J. August Richards.

And if I may:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mDKQ3L6FiRU

[Shogunn2517]

Heads up on a new extended trailer for Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. that will indeed debut starting Tuesdays in September.  Check it out here:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-4iM14dG5Ug

It gives more details about the characters and the overall story, which is pretty much what Cat said.  Marvel's version of The X-Files with more action and more superheroes.  Of course, that formula turned out to be one of Fox's biggest blunders.............

[BentonGrey]

Awesome, I'm excited!  However, I hope civilian girl really steps up her acting chops once the series hits its stride.

[BWPS]

J.  August  Richards  is  Luke  Cage  right? omg  I'm  so  excited this is going to be awes!

sorry for the extra spaces

[catwhowalksbyhimself]

Luke Cage has not been confirmed that I"m aware of, but it's what everyone seems to think, and it makes sense.

[Uncle Yuan]

J.  August  Richards  is  Luke  Cage  right? omg  I'm  so  excited this is going to be awes!

sorry for the extra spaces

That's the current buzz.

I'm quite psyched for this - with one caveat.  Joss is not kind to his supporting cast.  (WASH! Noooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo)

[Podmark]

Honestly the concept doesn't excite me that much, but I'm hopefully optimistic for this. I've liked most of Joss's shows.
#CoulsonLives

[catwhowalksbyhimself]

They have so much confidence in this show that they are putting it directly up against NCIS, the no 1 show on television.

Or was anyway.  I know I'll almost certainly be dumping NCIS for this.

[BentonGrey]

I've never really cared about NCIS.  In fact, it somewhat mystified me that it is, or was, the #1 show.  That said, I'm all in for S.H.I.E.L.D.  Provided I don't have to choose between this and Grimm or Big Bang, I'm set to watch it like crazy-go-nuts.

[crimsonquill]

I doubt it will stay opposite NCIS for too long.. I rather they moved it to across from NCIS: LA.. then again NCIS: Red Team (or whatever the Red Team show will be called) also premieres for the Fall 2013 season hoping to make it a NCIS trilogy night to lock the ratings for Tuesdays.

Either way, I'll be watching NCIS and Agents Of SHIELD regardless even if I have to DVR one of them to watch later that night before bed.

- CQ

[catwhowalksbyhimself]

I doubt it will stay opposite NCIS for too long.. I rather they moved it to across from NCIS: LA.. then again NCIS: Red Team (or whatever the Red Team show will be called) also premieres for the Fall 2013 season hoping to make it a NCIS trilogy night to lock the ratings for Tuesdays.

Actually NCIS:Red will not be going to series.  The suits were not impressed with it and it will not be going to series.  I only regret missing the oportunity to explian that it's a spinoff of a spinoff of a spinoff, which is too much fun to say really.

Back to the original subject, while AoS should do just fine going against NCIS, they would have been better off putting it on a different night when wouldn't be facing a show popular enough to hold onto some of it's audience.  If the show turns out to be as good as it could be, it could dominate a night, but NCIS is popular enough to hold its own, I think.  I'm betting though that the pilot episode's rating will be simply unbelievably massive, although I expect they'll sharply drop the next week.

[Talavar]

While NCIS is the number 1 show in overall viewers, it is not #1 in the 18-49 demographic, also known as the demographic advertisers actually care about (that's not a slam on the show, just the reality of how broadcast television gets paid for.  Way less popular in total viewers shows are seen as way more important to networks because of who is watching them).  Agents of Shield should be able to do just fine at that time slot in the demographic they care about.

[MJB]

J.  August  Richards  is  Luke  Cage  right? omg  I'm  so  excited this is going to be awes!

sorry for the extra spaces

It has now been confirmed that J. August is NOT playing Luke Cage.

http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=article&id=45510