Just days after Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings star Simu Liu updated the status of the sequel to the 2021 hit, Inverse revealed that Shang-Chi was originally intended to have a major role in Avengers: The Kang Dynasty before the project was retooled.
“In the original plan for Avengers 5, then called Kang Dynasty, Shang-Chi would’ve been one of the film’s main leads. A lot’s changed since then; Avengers 5 was meant to focus on Kang the Conqueror, but Marvel has since completely retooled the film to introduce Victor Von Doom.”
Because of the amount of time and attention that went into this film, and frankly the Ironheartshow, that is probably not as far along as people want it to be, but there are certainly great ideas that we’re still talking to Ryan about. So, we’ll see how far we can get with it.
In late 2023, a canonical animated series, Eyes of Wakanda was announced and set for release in 2024. Now according to trusted insider Daniel RPK, the studio is turning its attention back to developing World of Wakanda, a live-action series set in Wakanda.
No details were provided about World of Wakanda in the report, however, it’s possible that Gurira previously provided some insight into what to expect. In a 2022 interview with Deadline, Gurira described Coogler’s vision for the future of the Dora-turned-Midnight Angel, comparing it to David Carradine‘s Kwai Chang Caine in the 1970s TV series Kung Fu.
[Coogler] was saying it’s like that kung fu show, where the guy just walked the earth. She just walks off. We don’t know where Okoye’s going. And she’s sort of letting go. She was fighting to keep that position, and then she lets it go. That’s kind of her arc, that she lets go. And we don’t know where that leads to.
-Danai Gurira on the future of Okoye
In an early 2023 interview with Stephen Colbert,Gurira was asked about the potential for an Okoye-centric series and said,” I have been told that I can gently allude to this possibility [of an Okoye-centric series]. So, I am gently alluding. Just gently.” Perhaps the time has finally come for the long-gestating project to take flight. However, with Disney cutting back on the quantity of Marvel Studios’ content on its streaming service, don’t expect to see the series before 2026 at the earliest.
After stealing scene after scene alongside MCU veterans Elizabeth Olsen and Paul Bettany the 2021 Disney Plus Streaming Series, WandaVision, Kathryn Hahn‘s wonderfully wicked Agatha Harkness is set to make her return in Agatha All Along. Hahn takes the lead in the nine-episode series which picks up right where the final episode of WandaVision, The Series Finale, left off: with a depowered Agatha trapped in a spell cast by Wanda that left her believing she was the most neighbor Agnes from the sitcom portion of the show. Challenged by a figure from her past to regain her strength, Agatha collects a coven of witches and sets out to travel the legendary Witches’ Road in hopes of taking back what was hers.
As has become the norm, Agatha All Along will debut with two episodes before moving into the familiar weekly format. With the series premiere set for September 18th, it’s time to start prepping for launch and so, as is our way, we bring you…THE ULTIMATE LIST OF WHAT TO WATCH BEFORE AGATHA ALL ALONG.
Tier One
Getting yourself prepared to enjoy Agatha All Along is not quite the same titanic task as it has been with other Marvel Studios properties. Hahn‘s witch has only appeared in WandaVision and only one MCU project would seem directly related to what is expected to go down in Agatha All Along. Since we consider Tier One projects to be the bare minimum, non-negotiable prep, we have only selected two properties for your required reading.
WandaVision (2021)
Excluding credits and recaps and other assorted business that’s part of every project, a full rewatch or first viewing of WandaVision will only take right around four and a half hours. The early episodes certainly set the stage for the series’ twists and turns and the back half of the season has all sorts of juicy bits that you might need to take in before watching Agatha All Along. Trailers for the series have made it clear that in addition to the difficulty of traveling the Witches’ Road, Agatha will be dealing with the repercussions of her wicked past. And if that’s not enough, it’s widely accepted that Joe Locke’s character, Teen, is the re-embodiment of Wanda’s son, Billy. Though Billy, and his brother Tommy, were magically created within the Westview Anomaly, aka The Hex, and disappeared when Wanda lifted her spell, they have had plenty to do with Wanda’s story and are very likely to play a large role again down the road.
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (2022)
The post-credit scene following Episode 9 of WandaVision, “The Series Finale”, showed Wanda studying an ancient text known as the Darkhold. The consequences of her time with the tome became clear in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness where it was revealed she had been corrupted by the book and been transformed into the Scarlet Witch.
According to Wong, the “Scarlet Witch is a being of unfathomable magic” who “can rewrite reality as she chooses, and is prophesized to either rule or annihilate the cosmos.” In a Multiversal search for alternate-dimension Variants of her children, the Scarlet Witch used her power to Dreamwalk into other realities, threatening their existence. We know how it all ended but it is likely not to be the end of Wanda’s story and while it’s unclear exactly how much of this will be referenced in Agatha All Along, Wanda will absolutely have an impact on the series.
Tier Two
With so little connectivity to the rest of the MCU, Agatha All Along occupies rarified air. New fans often seem overwhelmed by the amount of work it would take to catch themselves up to speed on the MCU’s next big thing but, in the case of Agatha All Along, the two projects in Tier One are the only ones that are truly necessary. However, given that magic is the heart of the series, there are a couple of other projects that might add some context to the series or, at the very least, give viewers a more comprehensive view of how magic works within the confines of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Thor (2011),Thor: The Dark World (2013) and Thor: Ragnarok (2017)
Millenia before Agatha Harkness was doing her dirty work in Salem, the Asgardians began to study and understand how to harness the energies of the universe and use them to their advantage. Asgard itself was a blend of magic and technology and many Asgaridans, such as Frigga and Loki, were known to be powerful magic weilders. The Thor trilogy also includes multiple weapons, relics and other assorted artifacts that are enchanted via spells by Odin and, perhaps, others as well.
Your ancestors called it magic and you call it science. Well, I come from a place where they are one and the same thing.
-Thor
Watching the original Thor trilogy is certainly not necessary for fans to enjoy Agatha All Along but it does provide some historical context for magic within the MCU and features one of its most powerful practitioners in Loki. An argument could be made that if one was going to watch these films they could watch Thor: Love and Thunder (2022) and both seasons of Loki; however, there’s probably enough to be gleaned from the first three films to satisfy the need.
Doctor Strange (2016)
Doctor Strange not only introduces the titular Doctor but also the Masters of the Mystic Arts. Hidden in Kamar-Taj and led by The Ancient One, the Masters of the Mystic Arts are an order of sorcerers, founded thousands of years ago by Agomottos, who have learned to harness the energies of the alternate universes to protect Earth from mystical threats.
The language of the Mystic Arts is as old as civilization. The sorcerers of antiquity called the use of this language ‘spells,’ but if that word offends your modern sensibilities, you can call it a program; the source code that shapes reality. We harness energy drawn from other dimensions of the Multiverse to cast spells, to conjure shields and weapons, to make magic.
-The Ancient One
The film introduced different types of magic and warns against the use of many. There are some similarities between the way the Masters of the Mystic Arts harness and wield their magic and the way Agatha’s witchcraft is portrayed in WandaVision. If nothing else, Doctor Strange will open your third eye as to the great possibilities of magic used by humans.
She-Hulk: Attorney At Law (2022)
Any efforts to catch up on the use of magic in the Multiverse must include the latest adventures of the Sorcerer Supreme of Earth-616: Wong.
I need to make an example of Donny Blaze. Set a precedent that no unlicensed persons ever attempt to practice the Mystic Arts again.
-Wong
Episodes 3, 4 and 9 of She-Hulk: Attorney At Law follow up on Wong’s friendship with Emil Blonsky–as first seen in Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings–and see the Sorcerer Supreme target Donny Blaze, a former student of Kamar-Taj who was expelled and now works as a stage magician. Wong crossed Blaze’s path when the latter opened a portal and sent Madisynn King to another dimension where she met a demon named Jake…
Tier Three
Tier Three inclusions are never, ever necessary for anyone to enjoy an upcoming MCU project but they can sometimes increase viewing pleasure by adding context, providing thematic connections or allowing viewers to watch films or shows that have inspired the creators of their new favorite Marvel thing! We’ve broken this very different Tier Three into two parts.
Part 1: More MCU Magic
While the Tier Two projects can help new viewers understand more about how magic works in the MCU, they are far from the only projects in which magic was used. To that end, we present a list of MCU projects in which magic played a role. NOTE: This list is intended to be comprehensive, however, if any projects have been left off please let us know and we’ll be happy to add them!
Avengers (2012)
Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014) mid-credit scene
Captain America: Civil War (2016)
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (2017)
Avengers: Infinity War (2018)
Avengers: Endgame (2019)
Loki, Season 1 (2021)
Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings (2021)
Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021)
Moon Knight (2022)
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 (2023)
Loki, Season 2 (2023)
Part 2: Other Inspiration
As the press junkets and interviews used to promote Agatha All Along have started to emerge over the past few weeks, the cast and crew of the streaming series have named various projects that served as inspiration for the show.
The Wizard of Oz (1939)
Rosemary’s Baby (1968)
Poltergeist (1982)
E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982)
The Goonies (1985)
Hocus Pocus (1993)
The Craft (1996)
Practical Magic (1998)
About Agatha All Along
In addition to Kathryn Hahn, Agatha All Along stars Joe Locke, Sasheer Zamata, Ali Ahn, Maria Dizzia, Paul Adelstein, Miles Gutierrez-Riley, Okwui Okpokwasili, with Debra Jo Rupp, with PattiLuPone, and Aubrey Plaza.
In Marvel Studios’ Agatha All Along, the infamous Agatha Harkness finds herself down and out of power after a suspicious goth Teen helps break her free from a distorted spell. Her interest is piqued when he begs her to take him on the legendary Witches’ Road, a magical gauntlet of trials that, if survived, rewards a witch with what they’re missing. Together, Agatha and this mysterious Teen pull together a desperate coven, and set off down, down, down The Road…
The executive producers are Kevin Feige, Louis D’Esposito, Brad Winderbaum, Mary Livanos and Jac Schaeffer. In addition to series creator Schaeffer, episodes of Agatha All Along will be directed by Rachel Goldberg (Mayans M.C. and Gen V) and Gandja Monteiro (Wednesday, The Witcher and The Walking Dead: Dead City).
To the dozens and dozens of Nicholas Scratch fans out there, Heartstopper star Joe Locke is about to become a heartbreaker. After nearly two years of speculation over who Locke is playing in the upcoming Marvel Studios Disney Plus streaming series Agatha All Along, the identity of Locke’s character was recently revealed…sort of. According to Disney, Locke will be portraying a member of Agatha Harkness’ coven simply known as “Teen.” While nobody is buying that will be the only name he goes by–and a previous reveal indicates it will not be–it likely won’t be enough to prevent Agatha All Along from becoming mired in the same asinine speculation that haunted WandaVision from week to week during its 2021 run.
Rather than run from the ridiculousness of it, it seems Marvel Studios is rather content to encourage it, keeping up the facade as long as possible. In an interview with Total Film, Locke explained that while “Teen” is not a code name being used by Disney to hide who he is truly playing but rather an inside joke crafted by members of Agatha’s coven of chaos.
It’s not a fake code name; it’s what everyone calls him, which is a joke that develops during the show, but just becomes what everyone calls him, and he answers to it.
Once described as a “familiar” by co-star Patti LuPone, Locke’s character was also revealed by a casting call to be “witty” and “astute” as well as a “bit of a fanboy.” Fans of the comics have rightly connected those attributes to Billy Kaplan, aka Wiccan, who was so much of a fanboy that he originally called himself Asgardian and styled his look after the Odinson’s. According to Locke, Teen also shares another character trade with Wiccan: he is impulsive. “He’s very thoughtful and kind, but he can act without thinking sometimes,” said Locke of his Agatha All Along character, explaining how he might find himself in league with Harkness and her crew. Of course, there’s one other very good reason Teen joins Agatha’s coven: the power offered by the journey down the Witches’ Road.
In Marvel Studios’ Agatha All Along, the infamous Agatha Harkness finds herself down and out of power after a suspicious goth Teen helps break her free from a distorted spell. Her interest is piqued when he begs her to take him on the legendary Witches’ Road, a magical gauntlet of trials that, if survived, rewards a witch with what they’re missing. Together, Agatha and this mysterious Teen pull together a desperate coven, and set off down, down, down The Road…
-Official Synopsis for Agatha All Along
It’s become widely speculated that Locke’s character is taking the trip down the legendary road to reclaim what he misses most. And while some further speculate that he’ll be looking for his mother, Wanda Maximoff, others believe he’ll be out to find his twin brother, Tommy. Interestingly enough, a recent report indicated that the studio is looking to cast Javon Walton as Tommy Shepherd, aka Speed, the reborn brother of Billy in the pages of Marvel Comics. While Locke doesn’t confirm his character’s intentions for walking the road, he doesn’t shy away from teasing that his motives are not entirely altruistic. “The Witches’ Road offers untold spoils and power…,” said Locke, adding “and then we’ll find out.“
And find out we will–although certainly not soon enough and not before we all relive the devastating stupidity that surrounded WandaVision–as Agatha All Along debuts on Disney Plus on September 18th.
Marvel Studios kicked off its post-Endgame efforts in January 2021 with its first Disney Plus streaming series, WandaVision. Led by incredible performances by Elizabeth Olsen, Paul Bettany and Kathryn Hahn, the series was a hit with fans and has spawned a pair of spinoffs in Agatha All Along, a nine-episode streamer premiering on September 18th, and an untitled Vision series that begins production this Fall. While the continuing tales of Agatha Harkness and the White Vision are certainly of interest to fans, the series also included a handful of other characters whose impact was felt beyond the story told in WandaVision.
The story of Monica Rambeau, who gained her powers in WandaVision, continued in the 2023 film The Marvels and looks to be integral to helping move along the overall narrative of The Multiverse Saga and there are several minor characters from WandaVision who are set to return for Agatha All Along; however, arguably no characters had a larger immediate impact on Phase 4 than Wanda and Vision’s children, Billy and Tommy. Created by Wanda as part of the Hex she placed over Westview, the children disappeared when Wanda removed her spell in the WandaVision finale. Corrupted by the Darkhold and driven in her efforts to reunite with Billy and Tommy, Wanda became the Scarlet Witch and took on fellow Avenger Steven Strange in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. Though she sacrificed herself to destroy the Darkhold in the final act of the film, Marvel Studio’s head honcho Kevin Feige has teased a future for the character and it seems as though fans will begin to get a glimpse of that soon.
There really is so much more to explore. We still haven’t touched on many of her core storylines from the comics. I don’t know that we saw her under rubble? I saw a tower coming down, and a little red flash. I don’t know what that means.
-Kevin Feige on the future of Wanda Maximoff
Though she isn’t expected to have much, if any, physical presence, in Agatha All Along, Wanda’s actions will reverberate throughout the series. The series will follow Agatha as she seeks to regain the power taken from her by Wanda. To do so, Agatha must walk the legendary Witches’ Road with her coven and one member of that coven is widely believed to be Billy Kaplan who, in the comics, is the reincarnated version of Billy Kaplan. Played by Joe Locke, the character is called Teen in Agatha All Along, obfuscating the character’s true identity until late in the series. With one son finding a way back into the world, it’s just a matter of time until the other does and now we know when to expect that.
According to insider Daniel RPK, Marvel Studios is looking to cast Javon Walton as a character also called Teen in the upcoming Vision-centric WandaVision spinoff. Given previous rumors about the series and the shared name for the character, it seems all but a certainty that the studio is looking to cast Walton as Tommy Shepherd, the reborn Tommy Maximoff.
In addition to recently launching a career in boxing, Walton has starred in the HBO prestige series, Euphoria, and Netflix’s Umbrella Academy. In the comics, Tommy was a rough-around-the-edges teen whose behavior frequently landed him in juvenile detention centers. He possessed powers similar to his uncle, Pietro Maximoff, aka Quicksilver, and joined the Young Avengers under the codename Speed. Tommy Maximoff, played by Jett Klyne, displayed similar powers in the latter half of WandaVision.
With the third anniversary of the theatrical release of Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings creeping closer, fans are still waiting for the film’s breakout star, Simu Liu, to return to the MCU. While much of the recent dialogue around Marvel Studios’ Multiverse Saga centers on the poor performances of several projects, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings still stands as one of the company’s best films post-Endgame, having been both critically and financially successful. Just two months after the film hit theaters during the pandemic in 2021, it was announced thatDestin Daniel Cretton inked an overall deal to develop content for Disney including a Shang-Chi sequel.
Destin is an amazing collaborator who brought a unique perspective and skill to Shang-Chi and The Legend of the Ten Rings. We had a fantastic time working together on the film and he has so many intriguing ideas for stories to bring to life on Disney+, so we’re thrilled to expand our relationship with him and can’t wait to get started.
-Kevin Feige on Destin Daniel Cretton, December 2021
According to Cretton, much of the groundwork for the sequel took place during the filming of Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings. “While we were shooting, we were throwing around joke ideas of what a sequel could be,” said Cretton who added “There are a lot of ideas that we had in the opener, and some of those ideas are planted as questions, by the end of our movie. There are things that we potentially want to explore in the future.” Despite what sounded like a promising start to a sequel script, the director indicated in a 2021 interview that nothing had moved beyond the “idea stage” and that he’d done no work on a script, saying “I’ve done [zero]. It’s a fun place to be right now. Everything is a possibility. We’re just tossing very loose ideas around and we’ll start to hone in on something, hopefully.“
I think just what Shaun decides to do with all this newfound power, you know? It kind of consumed his father, consumed Wenwu. I’m curious as to how someone much younger, much more inexperienced, would fare against the rings. Just this idea of all of a sudden being gifted something that’s so powerful but also so dangerous. And then the other big question I have is, you know, in what way does Shaun fit in with the rest of the MCU? Who are you going to see? What kind of crazy team-ups? What kinda tie-ins, Easter eggs? I’m just as much in the dark as everyone else, so I don’t know anything, but I’m excited to dive into that process.
-Simu Liu on a potential Shang-Chi sequel
During SDCC ’22, Liu fueled hopes that sequel plans would come to fruition relatively soon, telling the crowd that he was”going to be busy the next few years” and that he’d be starring in “a couple of” projects Marvel Studios announced during the convention. Two years and another SDCC later, Liu’s Shang-Chi still hasn’t returned to the MCU and the sequel still hasn’t been put on Marvel Studios’ slate. It’s an understatement to say that quite a bit has changed behind the scenes at the studio over the last two years and fans have rightfully been worried that the Shang-Chi sequel may have been canceled; however, in a recent interview with Press Trust of India, Liu put those concerns to rest.
A lot of it is above my pay grade but it’s definitely happening,” said Liu of the sequel, adding, “So just very excited to kind of work on it and it’s going to be amazing. I really can’t say anything beyond that.
It’s an encouraging update from the film’s star that comes at a time when there simply hasn’t been much information about the project in nearly a year. In late 2023, Cretton was confirmed to still be working on the script while also having stepped down as director of Avengers: The Kang Dynasty. With even more changes having taken place at Marvel Studios since then–including the reframing of the entire structure of the Multiverse Saga–it’s unclear what role Shang-Chi will play in the shared narrative over the next few years. Once believed to be integral to mounting a defense against Kang the Conqueror, Shang-Chi’s rings may now have a different purpose with Doctor Doom looming. And while Liu may not be at liberty to discuss just what that purpose is, it is encouraging to know he’s still headed back to the MCU.
While the appearance of the Serpent Society in Brave New World wasn’t a surprise (set photos revealed a pair of members very early on in production), casting Esposito as its most senior member right smack dab in the middle of the action was. The trailer for the film reveals Sidewinder as an antagonistic agent of chaos and now Esposito may have given away his character’s ultimate goals.
During an appearance at Chicago’s Fan Expo, Esposito revealed some new information about Sidewinder and, potentially, his motives.
Giancarlo Esposito says Seth Voelker/Sidewinder in 'CAPTAIN AMERCIA: BRAVE NEW WORLD' is "a scientist; a great mind."
Presenting Voelker as a great, scientific mind is a change of pace for the character who, in the comics, was more of a criminally minded businessman. However, given the role that the Adamantium race is set to play in Captain America: Brave New World, it seems clear that Sidewinder and his fellow Serpents have their own plans for the mystery metal. And while a scientifically minded Sidewinder is a new take on the character, having a member of the Serpent Society armed with Adamantium would not be. In the comics, Frank Payne, who went by the name Constrictor, was once armed with Adamantium coils that he used to whip and, get this, constrict his enemies.
Combined with a previous revelation by Espositio that his character will be featured in a streaming series after the events of Brave New World, it sounds as though the Serpent Society is in the MCU to stay. If they are to do so and prove a formidable threat against Earth’s Mightiest Heroes, having a man leading the pack who can crack the code of how to utilize Adamantium will prove very valuable.
Captain America: Brave New World is set for a February 14th, 2025 release.
Despite the not-insignificant drama now surrounding its creator, Marvel Animation’s What If…? Season 2 and X-Men ’97 provided the impulse to change the direction of Marvel Studios’ momentum in 2024. With more seasons of those two series in the works in addition to exciting new projects such as Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man, Eyes of Wakanda and Marvel Zombies, the future of animated projects at Marvel is already bright…and may be getting brighter, yet.
According to insider Daniel RPK, Power Pack is back in development at Marvel Studios, this time as an animated streaming series. Gifted with powerful cosmic abilities obtained from a space horse named Whitey, Power Pack is a superhero team of pre-teen sibs who find themselves taking part in crazy cosmic adventures together. The superhero team was introduced into Marvel Comics in 1984 and while they’ve mostly stuck to their own corner of the universe, have shared the stage with the Fantastic Four, Spider-Man and the Avengers.
Marvel has been trying to find a way to bring Power Pack to audiences for over two decades but has continued to put the superhero team on the back burner for various reasons. In 2000–long before the birth of the MCU–Marvel struck a deal with Artisan Entertainment to develop 15 properties for film or television series. Lead by Captain America and Thor, the deal also called for projects featuring Iron Fist, Black Panther, Deadpool, Longshot and Power Pack to be curated under Avi Arad.
In 2017, Marvel Studios took back up the Power Pack torch and began development on the project under the watchful eye of Jonathan Schwartz, now the VP of Production & Development. By 2021, the project had been shelved as the MCU continued to grow and evolve. In an interview with Murphy’s Multiverse, Schwartz said of Power Pack, “It’s one of those things we look at and talk about every once in a while. We’ll probably get there eventually but it’s not something super active at the moment.” Should this new report prove true, it seems as though eventually is now.
For the third time in four months, Marvel Studios’ One Above All, Kevin Feige, provided a convention audience with an update on the studio’s 2025 film slate when he took the stage at Disney’s D23 event on August 9th. And for the third time in four months, Feige teased Captain America: Brave New World, Thunderbolts* and The Fantastic Four: First Steps, explaining what each project would add to the ever-expanding MCU and showcasing footage for those in attendance. And for the third time in four months, there was no mention of one of the studio’s longest-gestating projects.
As was the case at April’s CinemaCon and July’s SDCC, Feige’s presentation about the studio’s 2025 theatrical slate did not include even a mention of Blade. First announced at SDCC ’19, the Mahershala Ali-led reboot was initially met with incredible anticipation; five years later, that has evolved into incredible consternation as the studio’s well-documented struggles to get the project up and running have led to concerns that it may never make its way to the big screen. And when for the third time in four months the project gets left out of a presentation by Feige about what to expect in theaters in 2025, it’s easy to understand why fans have grown concerned.
Feige isn’t acting independently in ignoring the project. During a recent investor call, Disney big cheese Bob Iger also failed to discuss the project while hyping investors on the company’s big 2025 release schedule. “In 2025, our theatrical slate remains just as robust, with Captain America: Brave New World, Thunderbolts*, The Fantastic Four: First Steps, Zootopia 2, and Avatar 3,” said Iger, listing each of the other MCU films slated for 2025.
Despite being left out of Feige’s three most recent presentations about the immediate future of the MCU and currently being without a director, Blade is still listed as a November 7, 2025 release on all of Disney’s official channels. However, as the calendar creeps toward Fall, when the project was expected to begin production, the probability of Blade keeping that 2025 release date continues to decrease. And at this point–after not being mentioned during a presentation by Feige for the third time in four months–fans have begun to wonder if they’ll ever see the Daywalker’s solo project on the big screen at all.
There was a lot of pressure post-Avengers: Endgame on the public to feel obligated to watch absolutely everything in order to watch anything. Part of the rebranding was a signal to the general audience that we’re creating a lot of options, and you can follow your tastes within this brand. Some will be more comedic, some will be more dramatic, some will be animated, some will be live-action. Marvel is more than just one thing — it is actually many different genres that just happened to coexist in a single narrative.
-Brad Winderbaum on Marvel Studios rebranding of projects, May, 2022
So, I can say that up until this point, we’ve been a little bit cagey about what’s Sacred Timeline and what’s not. That was born, frankly, out of a period at the studio where we were like “we have to stick the landing with Avengers.” It was another part of the company developing the Netflix stuff; we were aware of what they were doing, they were aware of what we were doing, but it was a lot.. it was a lot to balance anyway. But now that some time has passed, now that we actually see how well-integrated the stories are, I personally, Brad Winderbaum, will confidently say that they are part of the Sacred Timeline.
With Marvel Studios so readily retroactively placing the events of the Netflix Defenders-verse into their Sacred Timeline, fans have been anticipating another TV series to be officially given the same treatment. Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., the first Marvel Television show of the modern era, continues to have a fervent fanbase of supporters who believe it deserves to be given Winderbaum’s seal of approval as well, despite some mixed signals about just how it might fit into the Sacred Timeline; however, Winderbaum isn’t quite ready to sign off on that just yet.
“I want to go down this road with you, you know I do, but we’re just gonna take a deep breath for a second,” said Winderbaum when asked if he considered Marvel Television’s ABC melodrama as canon to the MCU’s Sacred Timeline. “I think that Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. is a really great show and there was a long time where some of the best reveals in that show were during the Winter Soldier era where Hydra emerges and you’re like, ‘Oh my gosh!’,” said Winderbaum about the early seasons of the series that clearly crossed over with Marvel Studios’ big-screen adventures. “I remember that feeling, even knowing what was happening, just being a fan, [going] ‘It really is connected!’,” he continued. “I think that there is, in a crazy way, like you said, it does feel like it fits into The Multiverse Saga in an incredible way.” Before finishing his evasive maneuvers, Winderbaum gave props to the cast of the series saying, “Just know that I love that cast, I love Clark Gregg and I love that show.“
Winderbaum seems to have been heavily schooled in Feigespeak 101 because he said a whole lot without saying anything at all. Loving the series and the cast and admitting a nostalgic connection to the “It’s All Connected” days is a far cry from “I personally, Brad Winderbaum, will confidently say that [the Marvel Netflix series] are part of the Sacred Timeline.” Part of the studio’s hesitancy to officially canonize Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. despite the obvious connectivity of early seasons likely stems from some of the crazier adventures that took place in later seasons. Of course, no matter what Winderbaum or other studio execs say, the best part about fandom is and always has been the ability of fans to choose their own adventure and enjoy things as they please. Nothing anyone says or does not say should deter from that.
All episodes of Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. can be found on Disney Plus under the “Agents and Inhumans” section which is obviously and intentionally quite separate from the section titled “MCU Complete Timeline.”
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__utmt
Used to monitor number of Google Analytics server requests
10 minutes
__utmb
Used to distinguish new sessions and visits. This cookie is set when the GA.js javascript library is loaded and there is no existing __utmb cookie. The cookie is updated every time data is sent to the Google Analytics server.
30 minutes after last activity
__utmc
Used only with old Urchin versions of Google Analytics and not with GA.js. Was used to distinguish between new sessions and visits at the end of a session.
End of session (browser)
__utmz
Contains information about the traffic source or campaign that directed user to the website. The cookie is set when the GA.js javascript is loaded and updated when data is sent to the Google Anaytics server
6 months after last activity
__utmv
Contains custom information set by the web developer via the _setCustomVar method in Google Analytics. This cookie is updated every time new data is sent to the Google Analytics server.
2 years after last activity
__utmx
Used to determine whether a user is included in an A / B or Multivariate test.
18 months
_ga
ID used to identify users
2 years
_gali
Used by Google Analytics to determine which links on a page are being clicked
30 seconds
_ga_
ID used to identify users
2 years
_gid
ID used to identify users for 24 hours after last activity
24 hours
_gat
Used to monitor number of Google Analytics server requests when using Google Tag Manager
1 minute
Marketing cookies are used to follow visitors to websites. The intention is to show ads that are relevant and engaging to the individual user.
Pinterest Tag is a web analytics service that tracks and reports website traffic.
