Agent’s of S.H.I.E.L.D.’s fourth season premiered this week, and there was a lot to enjoy. Daisy (Chloe Bennet) has gone rogue, Mack (Henry Simmons) and Elena (Natalia Cordova-Buckley) are getting their flirt on, and Simmons (Elizabeth Henstridge) is torn between staying in the new director’s graces in order to maintain her influence, and breaking rules to help the team. And awesomely, Ghost Rider (Gabriel Luna) joins the fray!
With so much going on, we thought we’d explore some of the ways that AoS could tie in with the larger cinematic universe. Some of these are, in our opinion, pretty reasonable, while others might be a bit of a long shot. But hey, a little harmless fantasizing never hurt anyone! With so many interweaving storylines, and the fact that AoS follows one of the most prominent organizations in the MCU, there are ample opportunities for crossovers, cameos, references, and in-jokes. And in our opinion, the more the merrier!
15. Inhumans
Originally, an Inhumans movie was scheduled to be part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s phase three. It was set to be released in 2019, nut the news broke back in April that the movie was removed from its slot on the calendar. However, there hasn’t been word that the movie definitely won’t be made at some point, so we can still hold out hope. If there ever is an Inhumans movie, it would be an excellent way to tie in AoS.
The show’s third season revolved largely around the Inhumans, and Daisy, one of the show’s main characters, is herself an Inhuman. There would be ample opportunity here for crossovers. And it would be a lot of fun to see characters like Medusa and Black Bolt fighting alongside Daisy, May (Ming Na Wen), Coulson (Clark Gregg), and the others. This would probably be one of the show’s best shots at tying in with the movies in a really major way.
14. Phil Coulson
As we all remember, Coulson made his last big screen appearance in 2012’s The Avengers, in which he is killed by Loki (Tom Hiddleston). However, with the premiere of AoS, we found out that Coulson was only, to quote Miracle Max (Billy Crystal), “mostly dead.” Since then, Coulson and his team have had all kinds of adventures, but his role at S.H.I.E.L.D. hasn’t been explored in the movies. It would be amazing to see him on the big screen again. And since the Avengers have been kept in the dark all this time about his still being alive, we’d get to see a happy reunion, which would be all kinds of awesome.
Coulson is a loveable and impressive character who has had a major role in one of the MCU’s most important organizations, and in our book, that has earned him another appearance on the big screen. And who knows, maybe he could finally get Cap (Chris Evans) to sign those trading cards!
13. Bobbi Morse and Lance Hunter
Bobbi Morse (Adrianne Palicki) and her ex Lance Hunter (Nick Blood) left the show during season three in preparation for a spin-off of their own entitled Marvel’s Most Wanted, which has since been shelved. But they were great characters, and it would be a lot of fun to see them show up in the movies. Especially since Bobbi and Clint Barton, AKA Hawkeye, are married for a time in the comics – we’d love to see a little joke about their relationship.
Bobbi was a scientist, an agent, and a badass with a lot of heart, and Hunter was an irascible guy who provided some great comic relief. Basically, we really enjoyed both characters, and it would be a shame to lose them completely. It seems unlikely that they’ll be written back into AoS (although we’re still keeping our fingers crossed), but even a cameo here and there in the movies would be pretty great.
12. Ms. Marvel
Recently, Joe Quesada, Marvel’s Chief Creative Officer, has had some interesting things to say about Kamala Khan. In an interview with Comic Book Resources, he explained that comic book readers are essentially the litmus test that tells Marvel which characters and stories are doing well, and will be likely to succeed in another format. And since the Ms. Marvel comics are doing quite well, he said, “…somewhere down the road, she will be a part of the future of Marvel in other media.” So exciting!
If Kamala were to helm a movie of her own – or show up in another movie – it would be amazing to see her meet up with Daisy, as they’re both Inhumans who have become superheroes. Of course, Carol Danvers (AKA Captain Marvel) has been Kamala’s mentor, but Daisy and Kamala have a lot in common, as well, and would make a fantastic team on the big screen.
11. Lorelei
The Asgardian appears in two episodes of the show’s first season, along with Lady Sif (Jaimie Alexander) and it would be great to see her again. Given their history in the comics, we’d love to see Lorelei (Elena Satine) and Loki interact on the big screen. It’s too late for that to happen in Thor: Ragnarok, since production is already underway, but we can dream! It’s possible, though, that we might see a reference to this in Ragnarok – and it would be so awesome if we did.
We find out from Sif in AoS that “Odin ordered her [Lorelei] back alive.” But at this point, Loki has already assumed Odin’s (Anthony Hopkins) identity – so was it really Loki who wanted Lorelei back on Asgard? If so, why? We’d really like to find out more about this. Alternatively, how amazing would it be to have a moment where Coulson gets to both confront Loki and call out Lorelei’s mischief? This is an extremely long shot, of course, but still a lot of fun to think about. When you have a character who’s as sneaky as Lorelei, there are all kinds of possibilities.
10. Black Widow
As far as we’re concerned, it would be beyond amazing to see Natasha (Scarlett Johansson) on AoS. Of course, she has a history with S.H.I.E.L.D., so it wouldn’t be completely out of left field. We’d love to see some of her fieldwork on the show. How incredible would it be to get to see Nat and May kicking ass together? After all that she has been through, Nat’s expertise and experience could be helpful in going up against someone like Ghost Rider. And who knows, maybe she could even bring Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner) or Maria Hill (Cobie Smulders) along with her.
Plus, as mentioned above, if this happened we’d get to see a reunion with Coulson, and we’re not ashamed to say that would be enough to bring tears to our eyes. And, if Black Widow ever gets her own movie (please, please, please!), we’d love to see some AoS appearances there, as well.
9. Ghost Rider
So it looks like Ghost Rider is going to be one of the sources of conflict for season four. We already got a glimpse of his humanity in the season premiere, so he’s not going to be one-dimensional. We’d love to see Ghost Rider make an appearance elsewhere in the MCU. Especially since the 2007 Ghost Rider movie, in which Nicolas Cage plays Johnny Blaze, was not particularly popular.
Seeing another Ghost Rider – this time Robbie Reyes – on the big screen could help to redeem the mantle for movie audiences. And it would be pretty incredible to see Robbie, say, joining the Infinity War fray. Or if Marvel Studios ever gets back the rights to the Fantastic Four movies, there would have to be some sort of throw-down between Ghost Rider and the Human Torch. Ghost Rider is, basically, just a cool character. He looks cool, his name is cool, he has a cool backstory – and we’re all for seeing more of him.
8. Doctor Strange
Doctor Strange is hitting theaters in November, and we’d love to see some connections drawn between the movie and AoS. There is more of a supernatural aspect being brought into the show with Ghost Rider, so there could be some possibilities for tie-ins. According to the Hollywood Reporter, AoS executive producer Jed Whedon has said that, “We are introducing a different, supernatural element to the MCU, which happens to coincide with the release of Doctor Strange.”
What’s more, in the season premiere, we saw a spooky box that can make people crazy and homicidal. When asked what is in the box, Whedon replied, “something strange.” Probably a coincidental word choice, but maybe he’s hinting at some sort of common thread between the show and the movie? AoS has never been a show to shy away from the extraordinary, or from shaking things up, so it may not be out of the question that we could at least see some degree of connection here.
7. Fitz and Simmons
How can you not love Leo Fitz (Iain De Caestecker) and Jemma Simmons? We’re all rooting for these two crazy kids to have their happily ever after, but just when things seem to be going well between them, there’s always some roadblock thrown in front of them. And this season appears to be no different, with Jemma’s commitment to gaining the new director’s trust taking up a lot of her time (and oh yeah, there’s an android that might cause some tension). Because these characters have a special place in our hearts, we want them to have as much happiness as possible.
With that in mind, it would fill our hearts with warm fuzzies to get to see Fitz and Simmons hanging out with Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) and Bruce Banner (Mark Ruffalo), geeking out about science. Throw in Hank Pym (Michael Douglas) and you’ve got what could potentially be one of the sweetest, funniest scenes in the MCU.
6. The Hulk
Speaking of Banner… he’s currently off the radar when it comes to his involvement with the MCU, but we’ll see more of him with next fall’s Thor: Ragnarok. What would be great about a Hulk cameo in AoS would be the opportunity for Bruce and Daisy to have a heart-to-heart. Though Daisy has gained control of her powers, Bruce still struggles with his. Both characters know what it’s like to have powers that are potentially very destructive, and out of their control. We think that Daisy could really understand Bruce’s struggle in a way few can.
Alternatively, maybe Daisy could make an appearance in Avengers: Infinity War, and Natasha could overhear them, and feel renewed sense of empathy for Bruce. This could be the moment that causes Bruce and Natasha to get back together (yes, there are are plenty of people who aren’t huge fans of Bruce and Natasha together, but on the other hand, don’t these two deserve to be happy?).
5. Thor: Ragnarok
As mentioned earlier, there are plenty of crossover opportunities here. Since Thor (Chris Hemsworth) didn’t make an appearance in Captain America: Civil War, his only major connection to the Avengers before 2018’s Avengers: Infinity War will be through Bruce Banner’s involvement in Ragnarok. It would be great to see some references to the God of Thunder elsewhere in the MCU. There have been plenty of references to Thor and his fellow Asgardians on the show in the past – like when the team is cleaning up after the events of Thor: The Dark World and Daisy (then Skye) and May comment on how dreamy the Odinson is. Plus, everything with the berserker, Professor Randolph, and the appearances by Sif and Lorelei. And of course, the whole T.A.H.I.T.I. business happened as a result of Coulson being stabbed by Loki’s scepter.
We would love to see some kind of reference to Thor: Ragnarok, as well. Even before Ragnarok’s release, AoS could include a reference to what Thor has been up to all this time – which is, as we saw in the short from the Civil War Blu-Ray – hanging out on Earth with his roommate Darryl. It would be awesome to find out that S.H.I.E.L.D. has been keeping tabs on Thor and knows about his new roomie.
4. Avengers: Infinity War
This movie, scheduled to hit theaters in 2018, is going to be the culmination of much of the MCU’s phase three. There are expected to be crossovers galore. So what better opportunity for a cameo or two from our favorite S.H.I.E.L.D. team?
You can’t tell us that S.H.I.E.L.D. wouldn’t be actively involved in trying to stop Thanos from collecting the Infinity Stones. We all know that the team has seen its share of alien threats, so taking on Thanos – while more challenging – wouldn’t be outside their wheelhouse. It seems likely that the organization will have some role to play in the movie – and if that’s the case, we’d love to see some appearances from the show’s cast.
This would be an excellent time for an appearance by Coulson, for example. With everything that will be going on in the show, there has to be an opportunity somewhere for an AoS cameo. And we’re hoping there might also be possibilities for the following untitled Avengers movie, which was previously going to be called Avengers: Infinity War – Part 2.
3. Spider-Man: Homecoming
The upcoming Spider-Man: Homecoming is being produced by Marvel and Columbia, and distributed by Sony. It takes place after the events of Civil War. Since we’re going to see Peter Parker (Tom Holland) in the early days of his career as Spider-Man, it would be fun to see him getting some training from S.H.I.E.L.D., as seen in the earlier episodes of Ultimate Spider-Man for example. Tony Stark has taken Peter under his wing, maybe he could be the one to arrange it.
What would really be awesome would be to see Peter training in Fitz’s virtual reality environment – the one created, in the words of Simmons, “so May’s strike team will be able to train virtually, instead of May constantly breaking their ribs.” And it would be fun to see a conversation between Peter, Fitz, and Simmons. Since the latter two were pretty green when they first joined the team – just like Peter is now – they could be role models, in a sense, for him.
2. Black Panther
We don’t know a lot about the plot of Black Panther yet, but Lupita Nyong’o, who will be playing Nakia, said at Comic Con, “The story of this Black Panther is – what am I allowed to say? – That the Black Panther’s [Chadwick Boseman] leadership is really threatened by two foes who come together, and so Black Panther gets the help of the CIA and the Dora Milaje to try and defeat the enemy.” It’s hard to imagine that, if the CIA is in on this, S.H.I.E.L.D. wouldn’t be interested, as well.
Plus, as we saw in the mid-credits scene in Civil War, there’s a chance that Bucky Barnes (Sebastian Stan) will play some role in the movie (though Marvel might hold off on unfreezing him until Infinity War). If the Winter Soldier does make an appearance, there’s no way that S.H.I.E.L.D. won’t be eager to know what’s going on with that dude. So there would be some opportunities here to organically work in a reference or two to the show.
1. New Warriors/Squirrel Girl
A few weeks ago, news came out that Marvel is reportedly developing a New Warriorshalf-hour comedy series, which would feature Doreen Green, AKA Squirrel Girl. In the comics, Doreen has a positive relationship with the organization, and certainly proves her talent in the field. We would be completely thrilled to see an appearance by Squirrel Girl on AoS (or vice versa). The show tends to go through periods where things are pretty heavy.
Right now, for instance, the team has a lot to deal with, and relationships are being challenged. Daisy has gone vigilante, Fitz and Simmons are dealing with some issues that will probably become major threats to their relationship, and the gang generally has been pulled apart. To have the plucky, upbeat Squirrel Girl drop in at one of these heavier moments would be welcome comic relief. And if she were played by either Anna Kendrick or Shannon Purser, it would be even more fantastic.
