ABC’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. has been remarkably effective at tying Marvel’s movie franchises in with the TV series. Keeping that in mind, it’s not a great shock to learn that the ABC drama will tie in with the upcoming Avengers: Age of Ultron, but quite frankly, we’re pleased to hear it anyway. This week, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. executive producer Jed Whedon teased that the movie will indeed tie in with the larger storyline going on in the TV show.
“You should expect something. The Avengers is the big tent that all the franchises play under. Obviously, we’re included in that.”
Obviously, that doesn’t give us a whole lot of specifics, but we do also know that the tie-in won’t be quite as big as the mind-blowing Hydra stuff that affected S.H.I.E.L.D. after Captain America: The Winter Soldier hit theaters. Other executive producer Mauriss Tancharoen also told EW that the ripple effects will be much smaller this time around. Still, they will be present, and that’s something to look forward to.
While DC Entertainment has made a big to-do about keeping its film and TV universes separate, Marvel is all for as much crossover as possible. We’ve seen multiple characters cross over between the movies and the shows, including people like Lady Sif, but probably the most prominent of these examples is the Captain America: The Winter Soldier Hydra infiltration stuff, which has ended up having a major effect on Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.. In fact, Season 2 has followed Agent Coulson and his team attempting to rebuild S.H.I.E.L.D. after its ultimate collapse, and fans are still seeing the effects of the tie-in.
This time the crossover stuff sounds like it will be a little smaller scale, so it could be similar to how Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. reacted with a cleanup after Thor: The Dark World did its thing. Obviously, Avengers: Age of Ultron doesn’t even hit theaters until May—which is towards the end of the TV season, so it’s possible the movie won’t even have to do with the show until it returns for Season 3—and that’s if ABC signs on for another season next fall.
In the meantime, there are plenty of good reasons to watch S.H.I.E.L.D. Tonight’s explosive midseason finale is expected to be one to watch. You can catch the new episode of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. over at ABC at 9 p.m. ET.
