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The Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. tear up about the series finale and tease the return of Ghost Rider during SDCC Panel
Though the television sensation that is Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. has just announced that it's seventh season will be it's last, the show still has a hellicarrier full of stories left to tell. There are still some big (very big) unanswered questions that need answering (and a sixth season that needs to finish) before Season 7, after which the entire show will set off to Tahiti. It's a magical place.
The cast and crew of the series gathered in Hall H at San Diego Comic-Con, and SYFY WIRE was there with full Level 7 clearance.
Jeph Loeb, the head of Marvel TV, moderated the panel. He started by thanking fans for getting the show to seven seasons— something that didn’t always seem possible. Loeb was soon joined the agents themselves, including Chloe Bennet (Daisy “Quake” Johnson), Clark Gregg (Phil Coulson/Sarge), Ming-Na Wen (Melinda May), Iain DeCaestecker (Leopold Fitz), Elizabeth Henstridge (Jemma Simmons), Henry Simmons (Alphonso “Mack” Mackenzie), Natalia Cordova-Buckley (Elena “Yo-Yo” Rodriguez) and Jeff Ward (Deke Shaw). They were joined by two of the co-creators, Maurissa Tancharoen and Jed Whedon, as well as producer and frequent series writer Jeff Bell.
In the midst of showing a highlight reel from each season, Bell was quick to mention that bringing in some new blood for Season 2 (in the form of Simmons, Kyle MacLachlan, Adrianne Palicki, and more) made the second season a step up from the first. Bringing in the notion of Inhumans helped as well, he noted. As the cast discussed each season, Ming-Na Wen got a little emotional (and even cried a little on DeCaestecker’s shoulder), which is something that Agent May would (probably) never do.
It makes sense that she would be emotional— they just had their final table read (ever) last week, and they are shooting the series finale right now. Gregg joked that in terms of the finale, “the dragons look amazing.” In the midst of this, DeCaestecker offered to kiss Jeph Loeb, which saw Loeb greatly flustered. Loeb must be a loyal Fitzsimmons shipper like we are.
Henstridge remarked on how watching the highlight reel for Season 3, she found herself remembering so many different moments from the show. It makes sense that was the season that had her remembering, as it contained the famous episode where Jemma is marooned on an alien planet for an extended period of time.
Henry Simmons joined the show in the second season, and said he didn’t know “a damn thing" about it when he joined. Saying goodbye to Bobbi (Palicki) and Hunter (Nick Blood), who came onboard at the same time he did was an emotional moment for him. (“The spy’s goodbye” was emotional for us too, Mr. Simmons…very much so.) Perhaps to lighten the mood, Whedon recalled that the first time they put him on camera as Mack, Whedon said, "Did you just hear money?”
Simmons goes on to say that when he saw Whedon and Tancharoen call him down the hall at the end of Season 2 (his first), he ran away— he thought that they were going to cut him. Little did he know that Mack would eventually end up as the Director of S.H.I.E.L.D. down the line— and yes, get that shotgun axe too.
In terms of big reveals, how’s this? Loeb somewhat alluded to the possibility that Gabriel Luna could return as Ghost Rider before the show ends. Tancharoen remarked that she thought that Luna got his new role in Terminator: Dark Fate because of his work as Ghost Rider— this caused Loeb to casually mutter the words, “he’ll be back.” Here’s hoping. Whether he meant that he would be back on this show, was referring Luna's upcoming (and unconnected) turn as the character on Hulu, or he was just quoting The Terminator, anything is possible.
Is there any potential for a spin-off series (possibly on Disney+) involving any of these characters? One fan specifically asked about a Daisy/Jemma spin-off show, and Jed said that the idea of a comic book based around the two of them has been talked about. Another fan full-on asked one of the bigger questions that’s out there at the moment— is Sarge another version of Coulson? Gregg said that tomorrow’s episode might answer that question.
One ambitious fan asked the question that’s been asked about this series from the start— will we see any of these characters on the MCU big screen? Whedon answered it pretty simply: “We don’t know.” Again, here’s hoping.
They didn't end things without a final treat, however. They confirmed that there are four episodes left in Season 6, and then they showed a trailer for those episodes. Take a look right here to see the trailer for yourself:
Man oh man, much ado about Coulson! Whatever his deal is, it looks like we're definitely going to get some answers. If Melinda May says that she's going to get to the bottom of it, we believe her. Plus, we haven't given up on #Philinda for life. Not even close.
Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. returns to ABC tomorrow night. Fitzsimmons and Philinda for life.
Click here for SYFY WIRE’s full coverage of San Diego Comic-Con 2019, including up-to-the-minute news, exclusive interviews, and videos.
