How Will 'Avengers: Infinity War' Impact 'Agents Of SHIELD'? Jed Whedon Explains
Agents of SHIELD has never truly crossed over with the Marvel Cinematic Universe. There have been small cameos from Samuel L Jackson's Nick Fury and Cobie Smulders' Maria Hill, but for the most part, the events of the MCU are only in the background of the show. For example, after Captain America: Civil War, Phil Coulson made it clear he was against the Sokovia Accords that mandated powered individuals must register with the government. With Avengers: Infinity War arriving amid Agent of SHIELD Season 5, fans at WonderCon in Los Angeles had a lot of questions for Marvel TV head Jeph Loeb and showrunner Jed Whedon.
Opening the panel to the audience, one fan asked how/if Infinity War will impact Agents of SHIELD.
"The movies blaze a path. When Doctor Strange came out it introduced us to magic which gave us Ghost Rider; when [Guardians of the Galaxy] came out, we were introduced to space. We are waiting for that movie to come out so it can open a new playground for us," Whedon answered, according to Deadline.
What is that playground? The answer remains to be seen, but we do have a few hints considering some of the brand new plotlines that will be introduced in Infinity War. Firstly, the film will be exploring Wakanda, and in turn, Wakandan technology. Now that T'Challa has made Wakanda's technological presence known to the world in Black Panther, it could be only a matter of time before Shuri's tech falls into the wrong hands. That could be one way Infinity War could make its way to SHIELD.
One connection that is much more obvious is the death of Agent Coulson's favorite Avenger: Captain America. Agent Coulson is the man responsible for bringing the Avengers team together, so it's only right he would have something to say when the team falls apart in Infinity War. We know at least a couple main characters are dying--whether it be Iron Man, Cap or both-- Phil Coulson has been a main player in the MCU since day one Iron Man i n 2008. There's no way the lasting impact of Infinity War avoids Coulson.
It's also hard to believe the Avengers wouldn't at least try and contact Nick Fury in Infinity War . While we know Samuel L Jackson does not have a role in Infinity War Part 1, it would be odd if there wasn't some sort of mention to his whereabouts or the discovery of some sort of buried Thanos intel collected by Fury. After all, the Thanos storyline has been building since The Avengers where Nick Fury, Phil Coulson and SHIELD were active.
The Russo brothers confirmed they considered bringing the extend Marvel Cinematic Universe into the Infinity War, but it was just too much logistically speaking. The fact that they even considered a physical presence implies there should be a reference just as impactful as Civil War, if not more. Any theories? Let us know in the comments and stay tuned for our analysis on how Clark Gregg's role in Captain Marve l with affect Agents of SHIELD.
Infinity War arrives in theaters May 27.
