Back in April, it was reported that ABC was developing a spinoff centered around Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. character Bobbi Morse, a.k.a. Mockingbird. Then, shortly before Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. concluded its second season, ABC announced it wasn’t moving forward with the project. Three months later, the network has apparently changed its mind, as it is now being reported that the badass S.H.I.E.L.D. agent will get to headline her own spinoff, after all.
ABC is finalizing a deal for a Mockingbird project pilot order. Titled Marvel’s Most Wanted, the proposed series would star Bobbi Morse and her ex-husband Lance Hunter. Plot details were scarce from the Variety report other than the spinoff would follow Bobbi and Lance on their own adventures. Insiders told the outlet that rather than being considered a spinoff, this potential series is being looked at as a "new project solely focused on the two characters to continue their story.” Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. producers Jeffrey Bell and Paul Zbyszewski co-created the project, and they will serve as showrunners while executive producing alongside Marvel’s Head of Television Jeph Loeb.
There’s no word yet on when the spinoff would air or whether it could get a backdoor pilot during Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.. However, given that the fall TV season kicks off next month, unless ABC wants to put a rush order on this and start filming for a late midseason premiere, it’s likelier that the Mockingbird spinoff would air during the 2016-2017 TV season. Bobbi and Lance were both introduced in Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Season 2, with Lance immediately starting as a main cast member and Bobbi starting as a recurring player before being upgraded to the main cast. When we last left them in the Season 2 finale, Bobbi took a bullet to save Lance’s life from a trap set by Grant Ward, and while she was recuperating, she told Lance that she didn’t think she could keep working for S.H.I.E.L.D. after everything she’d been through.
Should this move forward beyond the pilot, this will be ABC’s third Marvel series, following Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. and Agent Carter. While it’s clear ABC loves to feature Marvel spy characters, don’t forget there is also the mysterious superhero project that 12 Years A Slave scribe John Ridley is penning. However, concerning the Mockingbird (non)spinoff, ABC will need to make sure it brings something new to the table and doesn’t just retread the usual spy intrigue seen in Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Otherwise there won’t be anything unique about it, and if there’s one thing that people want from Marvel projects, it’s for each story to have its own special hook.
