More than any of the Marvel standalone films that came before it, Joe and Anthony Russo’s Captain America: The Winter Soldier will drastically affect the storylines driving Marvel’s television companion project, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., if only because the government agency plays a major part in the Winter Soldier storyline.
How will the sequel change the course of the television show? Let’s let series star Clark Gregg elaborate.
The actor is spilling his guts to TV Guide, talking about where the show rests following its mid-season finale, which left things on a bit of a cliffhanger. I have to be honest. I’ve already punched out of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., so I’m forced to scratch my head and politely nod as Gregg talks about "the forces of CENTIPEDE" and the "mysterious Clairvoyant." Yes, it sounds cool when Gregg talks about a spider-like robot that was operating on his brain. But once you have killed off a character and brought him back from the dead – as Marvel did with Gregg’s character Phil Coulson – I have a difficult time investing in your dramatic future, because you’re basically invincible, and that’s just dull.
But, Gregg notes that the actions in The Winter Soldier are going to have repercussions on his show, because from what we know, Captain America (Chris Evans) is going to butt heads with Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) and Alexander Pierce (Robert Redford) over the tactics S.H.I.E.L.D. employs to prevent terrorism on American soil. When asked what impact the upcoming movie will have on his show, Gregg says:
"Ask me again after I've seen Captain America 2. From what I can tell from the trailers, S.H.I.E.L.D.'s a big part of that world...this C.E.N.T.I.P.E.D.E. plot and The Clairvoyant is going to kind of pull a lot of things together and perhaps connects to some of the Marvel films in the same way that a [previous episode] connected, to certain extent, with Thor 2. It will be interesting to see how our team integrates with the world after Captain America [The Winter Soldier]."
The integration he’s talking about occurred in The Well, an episode that followed the actions of Thor: The Dark World. And in the above clip, Gregg hints that we might even see the warrior Sif (played by Jaimie Alexander) on more upcoming episodes of the program.
Are these integrations keeping you invested in Agents? Do you think that a crossover with Cap 2 will bring you back into the fold if (like me) you left a while ago? We know you are going to The Winter Soldier, but how do you feel about how the future of Marvel’s movie could and should continue to guide the television arm?
