Since the Infinity Stones saga ended, Marvel has tried to expand the stories on the television screen. The MCU has flourished on the small screen, as it allows more room and time for character development.
The studio has found critical success, and the quality of the stories was not affected by the change. However, as several series came under the expanded universe of Marvel, Disney is still far from making one of their most beloved shows part of the current MCU timeline—Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.
Why has Disney not made Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. canon yet?
Marvel has released a spate of TV shows in the last few years. So far, all of them have hit the mark and did not stray too far from the direction the studio wishes to take the MCU in.
Joss Whedon, the director of The Avengers and Avengers: Age of Ultron, was one of the creators of the series, alongside Jed Whedon and Maurissa Tancharoen. The Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement, and Logistics Division, aka the S.H.I.E.L.D., was tasked with maintaining peace in a world where superheroes ran freely.
The series followed the story of agent Phil Coulson as he created a special team to handle odd cases. However, the agency played a big role in the Age of Ultron, and connected to Captain America: The First Avenger as well, thereby raising questions about whether the show would fall under the MCU even if it ran on ABC.
The Joss Whedon show was a critical success too. After seven seasons, the show holds a Rotten Tomato score of 95%, much higher than shows like WandaVision and Dare Devil.
The Top 3 highest rated Marvel TV shows on Rotten Tomatoes:
1️⃣ X-Men ‘97 – 98%🍅
2️⃣ Ms. Marvel – 98%🍅
3️⃣ Agents of Shield – 95%🍅 pic.twitter.com/czo7lCnH3e— The Hollywood Handle (@HollywoodHandle) March 27, 2024
However, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. is not part of the current roster of Marvel shows and films. While this status may change in the future, as of now, it exists outside the MCU, despite playing a pivotal role in the Age of Ultron.
Can Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. become a part of the MCU in the future?
The series has one of the most loyal fanbases in the world. Even though it ended in 2020, the passion for the show and the characters is as strong as ever.
The recent Marvel shows have been working towards setting up the story for the next phase of the universe. Unfortunately, the future of Whedon’s series is still up in the air.
Hawkeye introduced Laura Barton as Agent 19, also known as Mockingbird, different from the character that was seen on the ABC show. Even WandaVision showed a different version of the Darkhold that Agatha Harkness possessed, the grimoire, which played an important part in season 4 of the show. Kevin Feige himself finally answered the question in the book Marvel Studios The Marvel Cinematic Universe An Official Timeline, (via The Direct).
“On the Multiverse note, we recognize that there are stories – movies and series – that are canonical to Marvel but were created by different storytellers during different periods of Marvel’s history. The timeline presented in this book is specific to the MCU’s Sacred Timeline through Phase 4. But, as we move forward and dive deeper into the Multiverse Saga, you never know when timelines may just crash or converge (hint, hint/ spoiler alert).”
Kevin Feige’s statement will surely disappoint fans. However, there is still hope that the secret agency might make an appearance in the future.
