File this one under: About time! ABC have finally confirmed that they’re picking up Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. for a full season. The show was developed by The Avengers director Joss Whedon, his brother Jed Whedon and Maurissa Tancharoen. It was way back in January when the network commissioned the pilot. That first taste was shot based on a script co-written by the three developers and directed by Joss Whedon.
The show, to be produced by Marvel Television, is set to debut this Autumn. As you may have guessed it will adhere to the rules of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. This means there’ll be sly nods, in-jokes and nudges towards…anything Marvel have the rights to, we suppose. When you assess the successful box office haul every film in that universe has brought in, it’s a surprise it took ABC so long to commit. The Avengers is the third highest grossing film of all time, after all. Add that to Iron Man 3‘s takings and once again it’s proven that anything Marvel touches turns to gold.
Here’s ABC’s official synopsis for the series:
Clark Gregg reprises his role of Agent Phil Coulson from Marvel’s feature films as he assembles a small, highly select group of Agents from the worldwide law-enforcement organization known as S.H.I.E.L.D. Together they investigate the new, the strange, and the unknown across the globe, protecting the ordinary from the extraordinary. Coulson’s team consists of Agent Grant Ward (Brett Dalton), highly trained in combat and espionage, Agent Melinda May (Ming-Na Wen) expert pilot and martial artist, Agent Leo Fitz (Iain De Caestecker); brilliant engineer and Agent Jemma Simmons (Elizabeth Henstridge) genius bio-chemist. Joining them on their journey into mystery is new recruit and computer hacker Skye (Chloe Bennet). From Executive Producers Joss Whedon (“Marvel’s The Avengers,” ”Buffy the Vampire Slayer”); Jed Whedon & Maurissa Tancharoen, “Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.” pilot co-writers (“Dollhouse,” “Dr.Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog”); Jeffrey Bell (“Angel,” “Alias”); and Jeph Loeb (“Smallville”) comes Marvel’s first TV series. “Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.” is produced by ABC Studios and Marvel Television.
The network released the very first promotional image from the series to coincide with the announcement. The best news of all however, is that footage from the series (presumably taken from the pilot) will debut this weekend! A preview will air during Sunday’s finale of Once Upon A Time.
Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D. is set to begin on ABC later this year.
