Thirteen years ago, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. premiered on ABC, marking the start of a landmark Marvel television show that would run for 136 episodes over the course of seven seasons. Now, even with all the time that has passed since its end in 2020, the series remains a continuous topic of conversation within the Marvel fandom. Fans continue to clamor for Marvel to bring the agents back, whether in a new series or as complements in other projects.
That demand has seemingly become even stronger in recent months, thanks to Daredevil: Born Again. Daredevil: Born Again season 2 featured the returns of Krysten Ritter’s Jessica Jones and Mike Colter’s Luke Cage, making for a partial Defenders reunion. Daredevil: Born Again season 3 will not only feature a complete Defenders reunion with the return of Finn Jones’s Danny Rand but will also include the once-again resurrected Elektra Natchios, played by Elodie Yung.
Daredevil: Born Again, in general, has been a treat for many fans of the old Marvel Television era and the original Daredevil series that was canceled. But perhaps its greatest reward is being proof that it’s possible to bring stories and characters from the former iteration of Marvel TV and formally integrate them into the Marvel Cinematic Universe. And if it can work for Daredevil, then why not do the same for Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.?
It’s a simple enough question. Generally speaking, it would make sense for fans to want to see these characters they watched grow and come to love once again. But the reality isn’t as straightforward. As much as there are reasons to want Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. characters back, there are also reasons to leave them be with the endings they were given.
Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. featured underrated characters who deserve more love
If any Marvel TV show deserves to be formally acknowledged by the MCU, it’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. After all, it was the first show made for the MCU. It paved the way for the shows that originally streamed on Netflix and those series that were made for Disney+, like WandaVision and Loki. But the connections were always one-sided. Early seasons of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. had direct tie-ins, even featuring cameos from Nick Fury, Maria Hill, and Lady Sif. Eventually, the show resorted to simple references, but it was still clear that the show operated in the same universe as the movies. With the show over, there has never been a better time to bring these characters over to the movies.
As beloved as Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. is by its own fandom, Marvel movie viewers include a whole different group of people who don’t necessarily watch the shows or specials featuring characters from the movies. But that's what's advantageous about giving Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. characters a bigger platform: Including them in a movie gives movie viewers a chance to discover them. Sans Phil Coulson, whose death (and resurrection) started it all, these characters haven’t shown up in the movies. But they have potential and deserve to get the kind of love and attention the MCU’s movie characters receive.
How cool would it be to see Daisy Johnson use her Quake powers on the big screen? How awesome would it be to see Melinda May showcase her elite combat skills in a movie? How fun would it be to see Jemma Simmons and Leo Fitz, belovedly and better known as FitzSimmons, bring their genius and romance to a film? How powerful would it be to see Alphonzo Mackenzie be the director of S.H.I.E.L.D. as a Black man in a leadership position?
One of the great things about Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. is how it was always an ensemble show. While Coulson and Daisy were, arguably, the main characters, the series was about the S.H.I.E.L.D. team as a whole. It’s well-documented how they can all be supporting characters in bigger stories, so it’s fair to think they could be complements to more mainstream characters in MCU movies.
The MCU could build on Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. characters’ open-ended stories
When Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. ended in 2020, its series finale presented many of its characters in a place with easy paths to continuing their stories.
Mack is still the director of S.H.I.E.L.D., finally embracing the full scale of the role’s responsibilities. Daisy was last seen on a space mission with her boyfriend, Daniel Sousa from Agent Carter, and her sister, Kora—both of whom are from the past of a different timeline. FitzSimmons have retired from S.H.I.E.L.D. and are raising their daughter, Alya, in Scotland. May has traded in the field for the classroom, teaching at S.H.I.E.L.D.’s new Coulson Academy. Elena “Yo-Yo” Rodriguez is “one of S.H.I.E.L.D.’s best agents,” as Director Mackenzie put it. Meanwhile, the man who started it all, Coulson, is technically dead (yet again) but also still lives on through the Life Model Decoy version of himself created to help during the final mission.
Besides FitzSimmons, there are a lot of natural possibilities for how Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.’s main cast could be brought back into the MCU and used to supplement stories. Even bringing Deke Shaw back could be not only plausible but also interesting and fun, too, given he’s in a different timeline (where he has presumably taken on the role of director of S.H.I.E.L.D.).
These characters shouldn’t be brought back just for the sake of satisfying fans or giving the actors a chance to be in the movies (though Chloe Bennet did recently express her interest in playing Daisy again). But the opportunities are there. There are stories to tell if they want to.
For example, when Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. ended, many fans recognized the potential for a spin-off led by Daisy. It would follow her space adventures alongside her fellow Astro Ambassadors in Sousa and Kora while she also teaches them about modern day. So whether Marvel would want to give these characters their own new projects or use them to support others in their projects, the potential these characters bring remains great. It’s just a matter of capitalizing on them.
Is the risk of bringing Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. back worth the reward?
Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. had a fortune that is incredibly rare nowadays in the TV and streaming industry: It got to end on its own terms. The Marvel TV show concluded with a seventh season and finale that closed storylines and paid homage to its past. It featured the happy endings and hopeful beginnings its characters deserved while reflecting on how families grow but remain intact regardless of distance and time apart. It was a bittersweet but beautiful ending that had no glaring plot holes or huge cliffhangers, unlike the finales of canceled shows. Because of that, there’s a risk in bringing back these characters to continue their stories and/or implement them into other MCU narratives.
Take Elden Henson’s Foggy Nelson from Daredevil, for example. Daredevil was canceled and didn’t have a planned ending like Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. did, but the Daredevil season 3 finale still operates well as an intended finale. In the finale, Foggy was alive and well, set to professionally reunite with Matt Murdock and Karen Page to start their own new law firm together.
Fast forward to the premiere of Daredevil: Born Again, and the Nelson, Murdock & Page law firm is up and running. The trio of friends is seemingly happy, and it feels especially great to see them together again after all these years. But then Foggy is killed. Suddenly, his story didn’t end with the presumed reunion with his best friends and being in a happy romantic relationship with Marci Stahl. His story ends with death instead.
As much as fans would like to see their favorite characters from Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. again, chances are they wouldn’t want it if it meant seeing those characters die.
One of the things that has set Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. apart amidst the greater MCU is character development. TV, by design, allows for a kind of growth that movies don’t always have the time for. So the growth Daisy, Coulson, and company experience throughout seven seasons is valuable. Even for original Avengers like Steve Rogers/Captain America, Tony Stark/Iron Man, and Thor, their journeys are significant, but their growth doesn’t feel like it matches up to Coulson’s S.H.I.E.L.D. team.
If Marvel brings Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. characters into the proper MCU, then what happens to their stories? Do their endings get exploited for the sake of a narrative? Will their backgrounds and the growth they experience remain intact? Do their existing stories get acknowledged and treated with respect? Fans have already seen how Daredevil was initially treated. Marvel initially ignored the show before choosing to properly canonize it, go through with a creative overhaul, and turn Daredevil: Born Again into a follow-up series. Would Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. get that respect immediately, or would it be something to fight for?
Even though the MCU is impressive, it’s tough to imagine Marvel Studios could handle Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. characters in the way they deserve. The Multiverse Saga is already full of characters and narratives that have yet to be revisited, so the MCU is already committed to a lot. And who knows what will come of things after Secret Wars? But a return could work—if the actors and/or production team from the show got to be involved with the creative direction.
As sad as it can be to have to say goodbye to beloved characters and stories, endings are inevitable. The MCU might be inspired by the comics, but these aren’t comic books, where resurrections and reboots are normal. These are shows and movies with characters brought to life by real people who can’t actually play these roles forever. It’s okay for things to end and to let new characters and stories get the spotlight.
So, should Marvel bring back the agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.? Maybe, if it’s done with respect. But officially recognizing the show as proper MCU canon could be just as satisfying to some. If a return never happens? Then so be it. The seven seasons Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. got are rewarding enough—both for the characters and the show’s small but loyal fan base.
Add us as a preferred source on Google