With the recent release of the stellar Luke Cage, Netflix continued to broaden its Marvel Comics universe, peppering the Harlem-based drama with characters we've previously seen in Daredevil and Jessica Jones. It's something we're used to at this point, and fans have been clamoring for Marvel to now mix its gritty Netflix universe with either the big screen heroes or those elsewhere on the small screen. Well, the Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. panel at New York Comic Con saw Marvel TV head Jeph Loeb being cryptic when asked about the possibility of the ABC drama tying up with Daredevil & Co.
It's a fair question. And the fair answer is... Stay tuned.
That answer Jeph Loeb gave at NYCC (via TVGuide) isn't necessarily an impetus to create a Halloween costume that's half-Quake and half-Punisher, but it's the absence of a denial that truly is exciting for fans of all these shows. With all the deals and handshakes that have to be made in order for characters to cross platforms, it's understandable why it doesn't happen all the time. But Marvel's bigwigs know that crossovers and team-ups are the kind of things that drive fans wild (while also driving up ratings), so I guess it's more an issue of creating a story or situation that makes the effort worth the trouble. (The CW ended up importing Supergirl to its own schedule after the Flash crossover, so weird things happen.)
Plus, we actually have gotten some more negative than usual answers recently when it comes to the possibility of seeing Netflix's Marvel heroes fighting alongside those of the film world. A lot of moving parts would have to be working in sync to make it happen, and while it's not impossible, it's less likely than TV-exclusive crossovers. S.H.I.E.L.D. was a movie faction before a TV one, so that squad is something of an exception, but regardless, we're better off putting our hopes on television tie-ins more than multimedia ones.
No lack of possibilities exist for how Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. could enter the worlds of Daredevil, Jessica Jones, Luke Cage or Iron Fist, and it might actually make the most sense for the agency to respond to everything happening in New York City when The Defenders rolls around. That also plays into the "stay tuned" answer, since we're definitely awaiting that miniseries' arrival. Alternately, I can see the new S.H.I.E.L.D. director stopping by Harlem to put a stop to bootleg Incident videos being sold. Even if we just get to see Claire Temple resetting someone's bone or a Jeri Hogarth commercial on Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., that would be better than nothing.
Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. is currently in the early days of Season 4, with lots of big changes still settling into viewers' brains, and it airs Tuesday nights on ABC at 10:00 p.m. ET. Meanwhile, Season 1 of Luke Cage is currently available to stream in its entirety on Netflix, and you can head to our Netflix schedule to see what else is coming to the streaming service. Check out our fall TV schedule to see when everything else that doesn't involve superheroes and supervillains is hitting the small screen later this year.
