Geeks around the nation rejoice — Joss Whedon is returning to the small screen with a new sci-fi television show set in the Marvel comic universe. After turning “The Avengers” into Marvel’s best superhero movie so far and one of the highest-grossing movies ever made, Whedon signed an exclusive contract with the Walt Disney Company, which owns Marvel and ABC.
Shortly thereafter, news broke that over the next few months, Whedon would write and direct a TV adaptation centered around S.H.I.E.L.D, Marvel’s espionage and law enforcement agency that deals with superhumans. Eventually, ABC greenlit the production of a pilot episode involving Whedon’s brother Jed and sister-in-law Maurissa Tancharoen, as well as Jeffrey Bell and Jeph Loeb as co-executive producers.
The duo, who have most recently worked on the Starz show “Spartacus,” are known in the Whedonverse for their involvement with Whedon’s most recent TV show, “Dollhouse,” and the critically acclaimed Internet short series “Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog,” which has gathered a massive fan base over the last few years. In addition, they have also worked with Whedon unofficially on “The Avengers,” as he wrote in an open letter following the success of the movie.
As announced at New York Comic Con, “S.H.I.E.L.D.” will feature agent Phil Coulson from the Marvel movies, played by actor Clark Gregg. Along with his team of agents, he will probably fight supernatural villains and deal with characters from the Marvel universe. The show’s main characters have all been cast with mostly unknown actors, including Ming-Na Wen, Elizabeth Henstridge, Iain De Caestecker and Brett Dalton. Knowing Whedon, however, viewers are likely to encounter Whedon alumni like Amy Acker and Summer Glau should ABC pick up the show.
As of now, there is not enough known about the series to predict whether it is going to be next year’s big hit or just a big letdown. Judging from superheroes’ recent newfound popularity in the TV landscape, it’s likely ABC will pick up the show, especially after the network’s recent cancellations like “Last Resort” and “666 Park Ave.” As production is expected to start sometime between wrapping Marvel’s “Thor 2” and shooting “Captain America 2” in March, we should have more information by the beginning of next year. Hopefully, “S.H.I.E.L.D” will be closer to Whedon’s hits like “Buffy” and “Firefly” than to his misses like “Dollhouse,” because a genius sci-fi Whedon show is sorely missing in the current television lineup.
A version of this article appeared in the Thursday, Dec. 6 print edition. Tobias Keunecke is a contributing writer. Email him at [email protected].
