Speaking with TV Line , Joss Whedon discusses ABC’s anticipated S.H.I.E.L.D. “I’m excited about the show because it’s a very hopeful show. It’s not about murder, and it’s not about crime, and it’s not people looking into their own belly buttons. It’s about people who are trying to help each other, and that’s one of the things I loved about comic books. They had costumes and the villains were cool [but] they stood for something, and I like doing a show that does that.” Those hoping for the series to be close toThe Avengers helmer confirms just that. “We’re trying very hard to be true to [Marvel’s] ethos and also to the structure of their universe. So it is definitely a Marvel show.” 

However, Whedon then reiterates prior comments that the pilot (and potential series) will focus on original characters, rather than a “ton” of familiar faces (though “there’s a little bit of talk of that”). “Right now, I want to involve people in the characters that we’ve created for the show, and then we’ll worry about [the other stuff].” Cobie Smulders, who played Maria Hill in The Avengers, previously said that she had discussed the possibility of reprising the role for S.H.I.E.L.D., despite inevitable scheduling conflicts. What does Whedon have to say about it? Her schedule will permit very little” involvement, he says, “but if we can get a hold of her anytime, we will.”  

Actor Max Hernandez took to twitter to tease a return for Agent Sitwell. But is it for ABC’s S.H.I.E.L.D., Captain America: The Winter Soldier or something else? Sitwell was described as taking Agent Coulson’s place following his “death” in The Avengers but with Coulson’s return where does that leave his protege? 

First VERY Brief Look At The Set Of Marvel’s S.H.I.E.L.D Series

Marvel’s Agent M (aka Ryan Penagos) has been posting some pretty silly, unrevealing vids from the set of the studio’s currently shooting S.H.I.E.L.D tv series, but this one finally gives us a look at the set

S.H.I.E.L.D. logo from the set courtesy of showrunner Maurissa Tancharoen

Cobie Smulders Says S.H.I.E.L.D. Is Agent Coulson’s Show

I can’t really talk too much about it because there’s some talks about it, regarding Maria Hill. But Joss Whedon is a genius and any opportunity that I have to say words that he has written I will take. Clark [Gregg] this is sort of his show. I love Clark and want to be apart of it. But we’ll see. 

We know pretty much nothing about the plot of the show and this is our first indication that Coulson is indeed the focus of the show. Initially rumoured as being just a cameo in the pilot, it was then revealed that Coulson will be an ongoing cast member and now we have this clue from Smulders that Coulson will be the Capt. Mal Reynolds of the group. If you look at Whedon’s past television work, his history is rich in ensembles but there’s always a clear-cut central character among the cast. Looks like Agent Coulson’s legend will be growing ever larger. 

S.H.I.E.L.D. Set Video And Pictures From Agent M

Set Video here and here

According to MovieWeb, Joss Whedon is currently directing the pilot episode for S.H.I.E.L.D., which will start airing in ABC next fall. Marvel’s sent it’s own Agent M to have access to the set, but he’s only returning with some photos of a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent’s desk and a computer screen and a video of him going through some rubber bricks. 

After portraying the S.H.I.E.L.D. Deputy Director in The Avengers last year, Cobie Smulders is expected to reprise the Maria Hill role in Captain America’s next venture. Recently, the actress discussed the sequel and, more interestingly, the definite possibility for her to appear in Joss Whedon’s TV adaptation of the agency. 

About the script for The Winter Solider, Smulders reveals, “I’ve seen parts of it, but yeah I don’t know much. This is Marvel! They don’t let you know anything. It’s very watermarked scripts, heavily watermarked,” she explained. “Yeah, they don’t let you know like the day of, but they are very secretive and I think they are still figuring stuff out. I don’t know the exact dates [filming begins]. I know it’s some time in March or June.” On whether Maria Hill could appear in Marvel’s S.H.I.E.L.D. small-screen adaptation, Cobie Smulders declares,“The commitments to [How I Met Your Mother] don’t affect it. And I can’t really say, but there are definite talks about it.” Even if those ‘definite talks’ fall through, the actress says she’s thrilled for the opportunities in the sequels to Captain America and The Avengers and beyond.“Oh yeah! I’m very excited. I will do Maria Hill until they fire me and hire someone else to do it.” 

S.H.I.E.L.D. Vehicle Spotted For Marvel’s TV Pilot

As filming will kick off Today,the defence organization has been established with Acura as its official vehicle, an upgrade has seemingly been arranged for the small-screen. @MikeErmalovich and @DiabloRobotico, took to Twitter to snap photos of multiple S.H.I.E.L.D. logo-engraved Hummer H3Ts as they were being hauled in preparation for the shoot

After the apparent death of Agent Phil Coulson, many were very surprised to hear that Gregg will be playing the lovable character once again for the S.H.I.E.L.D. pilot. It was speculated that the potential series would be a prequel to The Avengers, and then there were the various theories of how the character could be resurrected 

Now, when President Paul Lee was asked how S.H.I.E.L.D. would tie into the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and he reveals that the pilot will actually take place after the final battle in The Avengers. “There is no question that it is part of the Marvel Universe. In fact, the story takes place after the battle for New York.” 

Despite its connection to the MCU, Lee reiterates that it’s more stand-alone. “This is S.H.I.E.L.D. They’re following their own particular stories. There are characters in it, Coulson, who clearly comes from Avengers. So it’s part of the world, but we’re going to be very, very careful that we don’t tread on the toes of the features and build a whole new world.” 

Additionally, when asked about the possibility of introducing certain Marvel characters if picked up, “I think if we’re lucky enough to have a great series. At this point though, we have a number of characters at the heart of the script who are the Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., and the first task is to make those guys great and relatable. Beyond that, fingers crossed!” Filming on the Marvel’s S.H.I.E.L.D. pilot will begin next week, with hopes to air on ABC this Fall. 

MTV News caught up with Joss Whedon, when he offered an update for the highly-anticipated 2015 sequel. In addition, also offered insight into his role as Creative Consultant of other Phase Two films, while also revealing when filming will kickoff for the S.H.I.E.L.D. pilot.

“Don’t go bigger; go deeper,” Whedon told MTV News, talking about how he plans to follow up the first Avengers film. “All of these people have met, so you have that out of the way. Now you can spend your time just digging in — and by digging in, I mean with a scalpel, to cause pain. Something I always say to executives is, ‘the first weekend is your job and the second weekend is mine,’” said Whedon. “If it had done an amazing job on the first weekend and then disappeared from the screens, then that would be my fault. That was the one I was sort of counting on.” While he just turned in the sequel’s outline, Whedon says he’s “a couple of months” away from finishing his “Avengers 2” script. 

And filming for the S.H.I.E.L.D. TV show should start filming “A week from Tuesday. You have to bring a bit of spectacle to [S.H.I.E.L.D.]; it’s got to be bigger than your average cop show,” he said. “But at the end of the day, it’s about the peripheral people. It’s about the people on the edges of the grand adventures. The whole point of the show is that even with all these big things, the little things matter. It’s about people who don’t have super powers. There will be some people with powers, there will be FX, and there will be the spectacle of science-fiction storytelling — but all played on a very human, small level. That’s the appeal of the thing.” 

As creative consultant of Marvel’s other Phase Two installments, Whedon says, “I read all the scripts and I give notes on everything. I’ll look at cuts when they’re ready to show me. I’ll talk to directors if they want to. I try to make myself useful without being intrusive. I’ve gotten to be a part of all of them. That’s a dream job for a kid like me.” Whedon also says he’s yet to see a cut from Iron Man 3. 

With various casting updates coming in thick and fast over the last few months, many fans guessed that we would probably see Marvel’s S.H.I.E.L.D. on the small screen at some point in 2013.

Well, in an interview with PREVIEWSworld recently, Marvel Head of Television and comic book writer Jeph Loeb revealed when exactly we should expect to see it next year. “We have a “little” pilot for television that you might have heard about called Marvel’s S.H.I.E.L.D. co-written, directed, and Executive Produced by none other than Joss Whedon! Working with Joss, Jed Whedon, Maurissa Tancharoen, Jeffrey Bell on the show is a blast! And bringing in Clark Gregg to play Agent Phil Coulson — the best! Hopefully we will be on in the Fall of 2013 on ABC!” 

So, no real surprises there, but this is the closest we’ve had to actual confirmation of an air date up until this point. How excited are you guys for S.H.I.E.L.D.? 

With cast slowly coming together for the S.H.I.E.L.D. television show, ABC president Paul Lee talked briefly to TV Line about it, and it sounds we can expect something good: 

“It’s very Joss Whedon. We’re optimistic, because Joss is a genius and we love the idea and we love what we’ve seen. But it’s early days, and it’s a long way to go between now and a successful series. But we are very excited about it.” 

TV Line reports that Brett Dalton is the latest edition to the cast of Marvel’s S.H.I.E.L.D.; a small screen spin-off of The Avengers written and directed by Joss Whedon. The series will focus on the Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division, with Clark Gregg’s ‘Agent Coulson’ already confirmed as returning.

Dalton is a relative newcomer, but he has lined up a supporting role in National Geographic’s Killing Lincoln. The actor will play ‘Agent Grant’ in the ABC pilot,“one of S.H.I.E.L.D.’s highly-skilled rising stars - he’s deadly, precise, and cool under fire — but not so great with the people skills.

The folks from The Hollywood Reporter have just revealed two new Agents for ABC’s S.H.I.E.L.D. TV pilot. Actress Elizabeth Henstridge and actor Iain De Caestecker have joined the TV series, filling the roles of Agent Gemma Simmons & Agent Leo Fitz. 

An early casting call described the two S.H.I.E.L.D. Agents as being “like a brother and sister who always bicker and annoy one another. They came up together and are masters in their fields: Fitz is good with weapons and gadgets while Simmons is into science. And during the show, Agent Simmons and Agent Fitz will apparently be given the nickname “Fitz-Simmons.” 

The relatively unknown actors, Elizabeth Henstridge and Iain De Caestecker, join Ming-Na and Clark Gregg for the pilot, which is expected to start shooting as soon as January, next year.

Deadline reports that Ming-Na Wen has been cast in ABC’s S.H.I.E.L.D. pilot (co-written / directed by Joss Whedon). The actress will play ‘Agent Melinda May’ who is described as being “Soulful and slightly damaged by her combat experiences, Melinda is an ace pilot, a weapons expert and a soldier who can — and has — gone beyond the call of duty.” This is the same character who was included on the casting breakdown as ‘Agent Althea Rice’, a.k.a. ‘The Calvary’