Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. mixed things up in Season 4 with the introduction of the Framework, which was a digital world constructed by the rogue android A.I.D.A. as part of her plan to build a body and become a real girl. The Framework was filled with digital characters, some of whom are very definitively dead in the real world of S.H.I.E.L.D. The good guys destroyed the Framework and defeated A.I.D.A. by the end of Season 4, but it turns out there may be a way for the Framework to return, and it wouldn't even require too much in the way of retcon. Executive producer Jed Whedon said this about a possible future for the Framework:
The Framework opened up a lot of ideas and a lot of possibilities. And our head of post keeps reminding us of that, because he's the biggest fan of the Framework, and he thinks it should be its own spinoff show.
It seems that at least one of the folks behind the scenes at Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. is hoping for a spinoff about the Framework. Jed Whedon clearly wasn't referring to a project that is going to happen or is even in development, but his comments to EW do paint the picture of a future for the Framework. As long as it was handled correctly with regard to timing in the S.H.I.E.L.D. universe, a spinoff could definitely work. After all, the characters we met when Jemma and Daisy entered the Framework were different versions of those we'd come to know, and they'd built their own histories with each other. Why not explore those different histories in a new show, simply set before Jemma and Daisy turned up?
One of the most entertaining aspects of the Framework had to be how it was able to bring back dead characters without necessarily coming up with some ridiculous way to resurrect them in the real world. We got Ward and Trip and even Bakshi back for another go. Between these characters who we thought were gone for good and our regulars in different roles, a Framework show could be quite distinct from its parent show. As long as it would bring back Trip, I'd be on board.
There are some problems with a spinoff set in the Framework before Jemma and Daisy arrived. For one thing, the show would already have a set ending. Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. already destroyed the Framework, so there wouldn't really be any suspense about whether the Framework characters could stay alive for happily-ever-afters. Then again, the success of projects like Rogue One have proven that audiences are willing to go with prequels and spinoffs, even knowing the end, as long as the story is good. For another thing, it might be hard to pin down the cast for such a series.
All of this said, I wouldn't start planning watch parties for a Framework TV show. Marvel TV has plenty going on with Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Season 5 and Inhumans (on which star Henry Ian Cusick gave CinemaBlend the scoop), and there's a big difference between a project being pitched by a "head of post" and a project entering development. Still, we can hope.
Stay tuned to CinemaBlend for the latest in TV news, and swing by our summer TV premiere schedule for all your viewing options. Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Season 4 is already streaming on Netflix, so you can go on a Framework binge-watch if you're so inclined.
