Ultron himself may be free of strings, but the threads that bind the Marvel Cinematic Universe will tie Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. into the next Avengers film.
Though Avengers: Age of Ultron is still months away from its highly-anticipated release, fans can add one solid fact to their growing arsenal of information. The new film, scheduled for May 2015, will officially tie in with Marvel’s television property, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.
“You should expect something,” executive producer Jed Whedon recently confirmed, adding that “The Avengers is the big tent that all the [Marvel] franchises play under. Obviously, we’re included in that.”
Though this revelation won’t surprise many fans familiar with the emphatically interwoven Cinematic Universe, it is certainly a welcome confirmation. Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. has already found itself responding to events of the blockbuster films twice, in enormously diverse capacities. An early episode of the series showed the team cleaning up after the messy events of Thor: The Dark World, an amusing but minor link.
And last April, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. found its world literally upended by the decimation of their organization in Captain America: The Winter Soldier – an event which many credit with bringing the series into its true potential.
Whedon and co-executive producer Maurissa Tancharoen remain coy on the specifics of what fans can expect, which is not surprising given the storied secrecy of Marvel operations, and promises that tonight’s episode of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. will change the series irrevocably. Still, Tancheron is careful to manage what will certainly be high expectations for the tie-in.
“I don’t think any movie has the potential to impact us in the way that Captain America 2 did,” Tancharoen says, but promises, “there will be connections.”
Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. season 2, episode 10, “What They Become,” airs tonight at 9:00 p.m. on ABC.