After a few months of no new content coming to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, things are picking up again. Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. has started season four on ABC, and Netflix has debuted the first season of Luke Cage. Both properties come before the release of Doctor Strange in theaters, which will open up the mystical side of the universe. Once Strange is introduced into the MCU, there will be an increased presence and knowledge of magic. Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. has already started to set themselves up for some potential tie-ins with the introduction of Ghost Rider, but that was not the sole reason he was brought onto the show.
Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. has always been a show about family first, superpowers second. The Robbie Reyes version of Ghost Rider is the guardian to his younger crippled brother. Now that he has become a flaming face in the universe, never before seen events have started to happen, but this is only the beginning.
Screen Rant had the chance to talk to Jeph Loeb at New York Comic-Con and asked him about Ghost Rider and Doctor Strange helping to introduce magic into the MCU. Ghost Rider is not a magic wielder but he opens the door for magical or supernatural events to unfold. The show has started to reveal a new threat and the presences of ghosts in the world, but Loeb says stranger things are still to come.
“The best way that I can answer it is that strange things are to come.
The reason why it worked for us was that if you go back to the pilot when they stated what their mission was - and what SHILED has always been - is an organization which looks out for the weird, the unusual and the dangerous and determines whether or not those things somehow have to be dealt with. When you look at Ghost Rider that checks all three boxes. So we didn’t approach it as much as ‘Now we’re going to bring magic’ - or as we refer to it the supernatural - ‘into this world’ and also Thor did a lot of the heavy lifting because they stated very quickly that magic is just science we don’t understand.
So I think as the season progresses on a show which is so scientifically based I think you’ll start to realize what’s going on here may not be all bippity boppity boo.”
Viewers have been wondering how the show will tie-in to the events that happen in Doctor Strange, but they should not expect anything to big. Any possible connections to the film will most likely be a line of dialogue and a quick reference to some unexplainable events occurring in New York. However magic is used on the show, it should be interesting to see how they go about explaining it in a scientific fashion.
Even though the season has only just begun, those behind the scenes are not being shy about teasing connections to the larger MCU. Loeb also told Screen Rant at NYCC that fans should “stay tuned” for a reference/crossover with the MCU Netflix series, so it appears that the show is doing everything it can to be more of a player in the MCU. After all, if S.H.I.E.L.D. is being reinstated as a legitimate government organization, the likes of Tony Stark or Steve Rogers would certainly here about that. Only time will tell if any big crossovers will happen, so fans will have to keep their fingers crossed for the time being.
Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. continues with ‘Uprising’ Tuesday, October 11 at 10pm on ABC.