‘Agents Of SHIELD’ Bosses Tease A Bigger ‘Sandbox’ For Season 5
As news that Agents of SHIELD has been given a fifth season reaches fans, the series showrunners Joss Whedon and Jeffrey Bell are fielding questions about what that means for the series. Is there an end in sight for the Marvel television series? That doesn’t seem likely, considering the Agents of SHIELD bosses are as passionate as ever about the future of the show. In fact, as both Joss and Jeffrey share, the Marvel series has even more potential now than it did when the series was launched, back in 2013.
Agents of SHIELD Bosses Discuss Season 5
For fans wondering about how Agents of SHIELD will move forward, following the events of the fourth season finale, CBR confirms that there will be a time jump. While neither Bell nor Whedon would go into detail about how long of a jump this will entail, the Agents of SHIELD showrunners did suggest that this is the reason some questions were left unanswered in the season finale, particularly in regard to Coulson (Clarke Gregg).
While details are scarce about how Season 5 will pick up, Joss Whedon seemed unable to contain his excitement for the future of Agents of SHIELD, especially in the wake of the developments in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Whedon explained that Agents of SHIELD has been limited in what stories it could explore, because Marvel had plans for themes concerning Hydra, robots, spies, just to name a few.
Now, the Agents of SHIELD producer says the release of the films opens up a wider universe for the ABC series.
“Since then, they’ve blown those doors wide open. They’ve introduced magic with Doctor Strange, which we played with this year, and they’ve introduced deep, deep space with Guardians of the Galaxy. The sandbox we’re playing in keeps getting bigger, and we want to explore all sides of it, and tell as many different stories as we can.”
Joss also suggested that there might be more stories concerning deep space in the future of Agents of SHIELD, commenting that he liked the related story arc with Simmons (Elizabeth Henstridge).
Jeff Bell Responds to Fears of an Agents of SHIELD Cancellation
As Agents of SHIELD reaches five seasons, IGN asked the showrunners about their thoughts for the end of the Marvel series, because, at this point, it’s at least something they have to consider. Jeffrey Bell confirms that he and Whedon do have thoughts about the end of the show and know how they want Agents of SHIELD to end, but adds that there are currently no plans to end the show as of yet.
“Our characters have gone through some pretty big arcs over the past four seasons, and we hope to continue to do that going forward,” said the Agents of SHIELD boss. “If Season 5 is the last one, we’ll build towards it, because when we know that we can adjust for that.”
Joss Whedon agrees with Bell’s assessment, only adding that he hopes for advance warning of a cancellation. Whedon is concerned that an abrupt notice would prevent Agents of SHIELD from giving an ending worthy of the show’s fans. Joss wants to do right by the show’s devoted followers.
The Agents of SHIELD showrunners also hinted that fans of Ghost Rider will be happy with Season 5 as well. First of all, Coulson may have more time as Ghost Rider, which delighted actor Clark Gregg. While he hasn’t become Ghost Rider on a permanent basis, Coulson has “borrowed” the role for a time, making a bargain with the devil, so to speak.
Beyond that Joss revealed that Ghost Rider isn’t dead in terms of the series and hinted that the character may return at any point in the series. He would neither confirm nor deny whether Ghost Rider will make an appearance in season 5 of Agents of SHIELD.
[Featured Image by ABC]
