Agents of SHIELD (SPOILERS)

[juan678]

https://www.cbr.com/agents-of-shield...spired-homage/

[Donald]

Anybody else think they're going to stop off in Season 4 and use the Darkhold to print Coulson a real body?

[Ascended]

I think this ends up not with "ripples" or "waves" but a tsunami that leaves the team completely outside the main MCU altogether. Not a tragedy since it's the end of the show, but it would cut off the possibility of any of them appearing in spinoffs

Possibly, or it might actually increase the odds of the actors carrying the roles over to Disney+ or the films, just as different versions of the same character.

I don't think it's likely to happen in any case, Fiege doesn't have direct control of the show and therefore it doesn't matter to him and if he decided to use any of the characters he'd likely re-cast and start fresh. But if SHIELD ends up in a divergent timeline, earth 2013 or whatever, then the actors could reprise their roles on a Disney+ show or movie, as the MCU versions; earth 161 or whatever it is.

So all the character history wouldn't be there, but the actors could at least stick around. But I don't think it'll happen even if Fiege does decide to bring in characters like Quake or Mockingbird.

[AndrewCrossett]

I wasn't really expecting any of these characters to make the move to the big screen (although Daisy would make a good Avenger), but TV or streaming shows. I've thought for a long time that a Quake-led Secret Warriors show would make a good spinoff, along with Ghost Rider. But various characters could also turn up as guests in other series, like what happened in the Netflix shows.

Kevin Feige won't be running things forever... he's already had a remarkably long run by studio executive standards. So far he's been good about not removing stuff from canon... hopefully his successor will be too, but if they ever start jettisoning canon stuff from MCU continuity I will likely start to lose interest. I think Project MCU works so well in large part because it follows the same rules of continuity as the real world. Just as there are many, many things in the real world we don't like, so there may be parts of this fantasy world (Inhumans, Iron Fist...) that we don't much like either... but there it is. Erasing or rebooting things immediately shatters the sense of "fantastic reality" that drives this whole thing.

[PD98]

Anybody else think they're going to stop off in Season 4 and use the Darkhold to print Coulson a real body?

Considering the last time a person used the Darkhold to print a body Ghost Rider wanted nothing more than to destroy it, I highly doubt they would try to use the Darkhold to make an organic body for Coulson.

[AndrewCrossett]

I actually expect Coulson to die for good in the finale. They're dropping hints that he's not too in love with his current situation. Maybe he'll make one last sacrifice to save the team and go out a hero, again.

[rpmaluki]

The only ending for Coulson is permanent death or mind scrubbing his hard drive to make it into a SHIELD toolbox or something.

[Ascended]

I wasn't really expecting any of these characters to make the move to the big screen (although Daisy would make a good Avenger), but TV or streaming shows. I've thought for a long time that a Quake-led Secret Warriors show would make a good spinoff, along with Ghost Rider. But various characters could also turn up as guests in other series, like what happened in the Netflix shows.

I think if it happens at all for any of the AoS crew it'll be on the streaming service (maybe a small role in a big "everyone together" film at most). But as much as I'd like to see these characters and actors continue the journey, I very much doubt it'll happen. Charlie Cox and the Netflix folks, Cloe Bennet and AoS, these actors and their versions of their characters won't be appearing under Marvel Studios. I won't say it's impossible, and there are some good reasons to do it, but I really don't think it'll happen. Quake and a few other characters could easily transition to a streaming show, but that requires dealing with baggage and history from ABC, and why go through that hassle when you can get away with starting from scratch? Hell, contractually it might not even be possible for the actors to continue with the characters at a different company.

I actually expect Coulson to die for good in the finale. They're dropping hints that he's not too in love with his current situation. Maybe he'll make one last sacrifice to save the team and go out a hero, again.

They're definitely foreshadowing Coulson's final death, it's just a matter of how it happens. He's died suddenly and violently, died peacefully and quietly.....what new way will they go with this time? Of course, they're being pretty obvious about it so maybe Coulson decides he wants to live after all?

[AndrewCrossett]

why go through that hassle when you can get away with starting from scratch? Hell, contractually it might not even be possible for the actors to continue with the characters at a different company.

Well, starting from scratch would mean nuking AoS from continuity, and if they start doing stuff like that I'll probably just consider this my jumping-off point. Now that the Infinity Saga is over it won't be too hard.

They're definitely foreshadowing Coulson's final death, it's just a matter of how it happens. He's died suddenly and violently, died peacefully and quietly.....what new way will they go with this time? Of course, they're being pretty obvious about it so maybe Coulson decides he wants to live after all?

Maybe. I would be astonished if nobody dies in the finale, though, and he seems like the most likely.

[Jon Clark]

Maybe. I would be astonished if nobody dies in the finale, though, and he seems like the most likely.

I'm expecting them all to "die". Basically the Season 7 cast have altered the timeline enough that there are two each member (like Mac and his kid self in 1982). The obvious closing episode is something that reduces it back to only one set of the team. My money is on most if not all of "our" team to die while their counterparts in the new MCU timeline go on. Extra points if they kill off the MCU Coulson and leave our time-travelling LMD one in the shadows watching with almost no one at SHIELD aware of his existence.

[Ascended]

Well, starting from scratch would mean nuking AoS from continuity, and if they start doing stuff like that I'll probably just consider this my jumping-off point. Now that the Infinity Saga is over it won't be too hard.

I got the feeling that the non-Marvel Studios stuff is gonna get dumped. Now that Disney+ is a thing, Marvel doesn't need to work with other companies for their tv shows so Fiege can just start over with the characters, using the dissolution of the tv deals as an excuse. And the Netflix stuff is definitely getting cut; it never fit with the tone of the wider MCU anyway. Arguably, the casting of Ali as Blade means it's already happened....though Marvel seems to have relaxed their "one role per actor" rule, since Gemma Chan or whatever her name is will be an Eternal as well as playing Minn-Evra in Captain Marvel.

I don't blame you for jumping ship if they start dumping parts of continuity just because the Studio didn't have direct control of the product. I'm not going that far myself; a good movie is still a good movie, but I don't blame you; reboots always lose some fans.

It *will* be a shame to lose Quake, if that's what happens. Bennet has played that character for years, voiced the cartoon version, voiced a video game or two I think.....the actor is practically synonymous with the character, and AoS is the only reason most of us even know who Quake is.

Best case scenario, I think, is splitting the difference. Keep the actors (some of them, at least), and don't directly contradict the past shows/continuity but don't really acknowledge them either. In Quake's case, say she's been an agent for a while and seen some stuff....but never get into what that stuff is. Sort of like what they did with Hulk; Incredible Hulk wasn't cut from continuity but it's not talked about in detail either.

[AndrewCrossett]

I got the feeling that the non-Marvel Studios stuff is gonna get dumped. Now that Disney+ is a thing, Marvel doesn't need to work with other companies for their tv shows so Fiege can just start over with the characters, using the dissolution of the tv deals as an excuse. And the Netflix stuff is definitely getting cut; it never fit with the tone of the wider MCU anyway. Arguably, the casting of Ali as Blade means it's already happened....though Marvel seems to have relaxed their "one role per actor" rule, since Gemma Chan or whatever her name is will be an Eternal as well as playing Minn-Evra in Captain Marvel.

I don't mind actors (other than the stars) playing more than one role... as an old Xena fan, I'm used to it. And they'd be crazy to say no to Mahershala Ali as Blade.

I don't know how Feige feels about the sanctity of canon. I know Joss Whedon was a stickler for it, and Feige and Whedon seemed to be very much on the same page. But the bottom line is king in this business.

The only Netflix characters I could see being of much interest for the cinematic MCU are Daredevil and Elektra. (I would have said Punisher too, but probably not in this political environment.) And since the Daredevil Netflix series was so widely acclaimed and liked, they would be foolish to nuke it from continuity and re-cast.

Of course, they could just do what the comic books did... throw up their hands and say every issue is canon, but they took place in any number of parallel worlds which are separate but can intersect wherever and whenever it's convenient for our writers. The creators of the Kelvinverse Star Trek movies were smart in how they did it... if they're tried to do a cold reboot the fandom would have had their heads, but instead they said, look, it's in a different timeline, all the Trek stories you know and love are safe and sound in the other timeline, and here's Leonard Nimoy to prove it.

[Ascended]

I don't mind actors (other than the stars) playing more than one role... as an old Xena fan, I'm used to it. And they'd be crazy to say no to Mahershala Ali as Blade.

I do lean towards the "one actor one role" rule in the MCU, but it's not a big deal at all. And yes, they'd have been crazy not to get Ali in any role he'd accept. That dude can *act.*

I don't know how Feige feels about the sanctity of canon. I know Joss Whedon was a stickler for it, and Feige and Whedon seemed to be very much on the same page. But the bottom line is king in this business.

Just going by the films, it seems like Fiege cares but doesn't lose much sleep over it. We've had a few goofs and mistakes in the inter-film continuity (like the infamous wrong year in Spider-Man) that I feel a true stickler would've caught and fixed, but Fiege definitely maintains the continuity to a large degree. He seems to understand the importance and strength of it, in a serialized format like this, but he doesn't sweat the details.

The only Netflix characters I could see being of much interest for the cinematic MCU are Daredevil and Elektra. (I would have said Punisher too, but probably not in this political environment.) And since the Daredevil Netflix series was so widely acclaimed and liked, they would be foolish to nuke it from continuity and re-cast.

Eh, re-casting the Defenders and nuking those shows won't hurt them, the intended audiences are too different.

Don't get me wrong, I *want* the Netflix actors to stick around (even the guy who played Iron Fist could do a good job with better material and training), but I don't think it's gonna hurt Disney much at all if they re-cast and dump the shows from continuity. Us adults who enjoyed the Defenders will still enjoy them on Netflix and blu-ray, and kids will have a more age-appropriate version to watch too.

Of course, they could just do what the comic books did... throw up their hands and say every issue is canon, but they took place in any number of parallel worlds which are separate but can intersect wherever and whenever it's convenient for our writers. The creators of the Kelvinverse Star Trek movies were smart in how they did it... if they're tried to do a cold reboot the fandom would have had their heads, but instead they said, look, it's in a different timeline, all the Trek stories you know and love are safe and sound in the other timeline, and here's Leonard Nimoy to prove it.

I think that's the approach they'll take, at least in the cases where they bother to deal with it at all. Which is fine but still amounts to the same thing. Far as I'm concerned the Defenders are already lost, and if a few actors from AoS manage to keep the roles with a soft-reboot "doesn't contradict the past shows but doesn't acknowledge them either" approach, that'll be as big a win as we can reasonably expect.

[Sutekh]

Extra points if they kill off the MCU Coulson and leave our time-travelling LMD one in the shadows watching with almost no one at SHIELD aware of his existence.

It would be a kick in the teeth if everyone *but* Mr. Dies-All-The-Time Coulson died in the big ending, leaving an immortal robot Coulson watching from the shadows.

[juan678]