Breaking Down the 'Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.' Promo and Its Impact on the MCU

Michael Moccio ’16 / Emertainment Monthly Executive Editor

Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. aired a new promo during the red carpet coverage of the Oscars. In case you missed it, watch it here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OCqK2_rsg58

The promo is fairly simple and straightforward: Skye waking up in a quarantined room, talking about “something inside [her]… something possibly inhuman.” For those of you who haven’t been keeping up with Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. they’ve done a lot to integrate aspects of the Marvel Cinematic Universe into the show. Despite originally starting as a show steering away from  the straight superhero elements of the Marvel Universe, they’ve slowly but surely integrated more and more as they explore the Kree and Inhuman Terrigen Mists (the Obelisks).

It seems that Marvel is looking to flesh out the Inhuman storyline before the 2019 release date through Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Before Inhumans, Marvel has to go through Avengers, Ant-Man, Civil War, Doctor Strage, Guardians of the Galaxy 2, Spider-Man, Thor: Ragnarok, Avengers: Infinity War, Part 1, Black Panther, Captain Marvel, and Avengers: Infinity War, Part II. That’s eleven movies and a little more than four years.

The fact that they’re showing this trailer at the Oscars and doing these storylines in the show tells us three things: first, Marvel’s in it for the long haul; two, they believe that Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. will retain a significant fan base enough to stay on the air and deliver their story; and three, they’ll have enough material to cover four seasons before the movie eventually comes out.

Marvel’s always been a company to take risks, even more so since Disney bought them. For them to bank on a television show means that they’re giving it as much importance as their films, which will hopefully inspire a larger fan base to get into the superhero and comic book medium.