Cobie Smulders will reprise her role as Maria Hill in Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., to the relief of Avengers fans everywhere. But her commitment to How I Met Your Mother limits her availability.

It was revealed today at the San Diego Comic-Con that Cobie Smulders will indeed appear in the pilot episode of Joss Whedon’s new Avengers-spinoff series, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., reprising her role as Agent Coulson’s partner Maria Hill.

Smulders’ involvement with the pilot episode has been a closely guarded secret up until this point, and fans were worried her character would be written out of the series completely due to the fact that the actress currently stars on How I Met Your Mother.

Finally able to discuss Smulders’ role in the series, Joss Whedon tells EW that he always wanted her in the pilot episode.

“Because as much as anyone else, she IS S.H.I.E.L.D.,” Whedon says. “She’s cool and commanding, and has the dry humor that plays so well with Clark [Gregg]’s. Also, if she’s in it I get to hang out with Cobie.”

Because of How I Met Your Mother, Smulders’ role in S.H.I.E.L.D.’s first season will be sparsely recurring, but it looks like we can expect her to pop up in more than just the pilot.

How I Met Your Mother is entering its ninth and final season this fall, which will span Barney and Robin’s wedding weekend.

As this is the show’s final year, we hope that Smulders will be able to transition to S.H.I.E.L.D. for season 2, if ABC chooses to renew it!

And if this tweet from Smulders reacting to the reveal is anything to go by, we would guess she’d definitely be up for it:

Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. premieres Tuesday, September 24, airing at 8/7c on ABC.