The first official image from Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. season 3 suggests disparate desires between members of Daisy’s team.
Unsurprisingly, tension seems to be percolating between Lincoln and Mack — who have done this dance before, with painful results. As both an Inhuman and a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent, Daisy seems to be trying to make peace between the two men, but we don’t anticipate that she’ll have much success for now.
It’s hard to tell exactly what the source of the tension is between Mack and Lincoln, though the fact that Lincoln is in scrubs might offer a clue. Could the medical-student-turned-human-sparkplug be resisting efforts to join Daisy’s Inhuman crew? Or is there another issue inspiring friction between the two men?
Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. executive producer Jeff Bell won’t offer any specifics on the Lincoln situation, but he does contextualize the chaos into which season 3 will be born.
“These ‘aliens’ are popping up all over the world, without anybody to guide them, so there’s a lot of fear and paranoia,” he says, referring to Terrigen-triggered Inhumans.
And the world will not be content to let these powers blossom peacefully. The Advanced Threat Containment Unit (ACTU, because why miss a chance for an acronym?) will hunt newborn Inhumans, led by Constance Zimmer’s still-unnamed character — apparently, with no lack of hostility.
“They really are against us, which forces our team to come together,” says Bell. “Whereas we were splintered last season.”
As the team as a whole coheres, Grant Ward will come into his own identity as a self-motivated villain, instead of “a vessel of somebody else’s wrath.” Bell also hints that Simmons’s mysterious fate will be “fun,” while Coulson experiments on more than one replacement for his lost hand.
Meanwhile, fans can rest easy about other characters’ longevity on Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. season 3. Bell implies that Melinda May’s rumored diminished role is an “exaggeration,” while Bobbi Morse and Lance Hunter aren’t going anywhere for the time being. Developments toward Marvel’s Most Wanted are still “down the road,” according to Bell — so the two dysfunctional badasses will remain on Team S.H.I.E.L.D. for a while longer.
Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. season 3 premieres on Tuesday, Sept. 29 at 9:00 p.m. on ABC.