Co-writer and director of the upcoming S.H.I.E.L.D. TV series, Joss Whedon, recently sat down with TVLine to talk about the highly anticipated project. He doesn't really give any plot details like how Agent Coulson is still alive in the series, but he does talk about the hopeful tone of the story, and Cobie Smulders' possible involvement. Here's what he had to say,
I’m excited about the show because it’s a very hopeful show. It’s not about murder, and it’s not about crime, and it’s not people looking into their own belly buttons. It’s about people who are trying to help each other, and that’s one of the things I loved about comic books. They had costumes and the villains were cool [but] they stood for something, and I like doing a show that does that.
When talking about the inclusion in the Marvel Cinematic Universe in the series, the filmmaker said, "We’re trying very hard to be true to [Marvel's] ethos and also to the structure of their universe. So it is definitely a Marvel show." I never had any doubt that it would be a Marvel show. He does go on to say though that the characters included in the series are original characters created just for the series except for Agent Coulson (Clark Gregg). Whedon says not to expect "a ton" of familiar faces from the Marvel-verse, but adds that “there’s a little bit of talk of that" for any possible future the project has in primetime. "Right now, I want to involve people in the characters that we’ve created for the show, and then we’ll worry about [the other stuff]."
As for Smulders' involvement with the series as Maria Hill, her schedule with How I Met Your Mother will make it minimal, but he did say, "if we can get a hold of her anytime, we will."
The cast also includes Ming-Na We as Agent Melinda May, Brett Dalton as Agent Grant Ward, Iain De Caestecker as Agent Leo Fitz, Elizabeth Henstridge as Agent Gemma Simmons, and Chloe Bennet as Skye. The series takes place after the events of The Avengers, and will revolve around the activities of the top-secret S.H.I.E.L.D. espionage organization featured throughout the Marvel films.
The series will premiere in the Fall, and I can't wait to see what Whedon has created for us this time!