ABC orders Joss Whedon SHIELD pilot

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ABC orders Joss Whedon SHIELD pilot

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http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/08/2 ... 38259.html
ABC Orders 'S.H.I.E.L.D.' Pilot From Joss Whedon And Marvel TV

The Huffington Post | By Laura Prudom Posted: 08/29/2012 12:07 am Updated: 08/29/2012 4:03 am
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Joss Whedon could return to TV with a "S.H.I.E.L.D." pilot for ABC.

Whedonverse rejoice! "Buffy" and "Firefly" creator Joss Whedon could soon be returning to TV.

According to Deadline, ABC has ordered a pilot for "S.H.I.E.L.D.," a live-action series set in the same universe as Whedon's "Avengers" movie.

The pilot will be penned by Whedon and his longtime collaborators, brother Jed Whedon and sister-in-law Maurissa Tancharoen, who worked together on the successful web series "Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog." Whedon is also set to direct the project, if his schedule allows.

S.H.I.E.L.D. (which stands for Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division in the Marvel cinematic universe, and Strategic Hazard Intervention Espionage Logistics Directorate in the comics) is a military law enforcement agency and peacekeeping group headed up by Nick Fury, who was played by Samuel L. Jackson in the Marvel movies. Fury and S.H.I.E.L.D. were responsible for spearheading the Avengers Initiative, which brought together Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.), Thor (Chris Hemsworth), Captain America (Chris Evans), Hulk (Mark Ruffalo), Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson) and Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner) to combat Loki (Tom Hiddleston) and the alien Chitauri warriors in the summer blockbuster.

Deadline reports that production on the pilot is set to begin immediately, with Joss Whedon, Jed Whedon and Maurissa Tancharoen executive producing alongside Jeffrey Bell and Marvel TV’s Jeph Loeb.

Nick Fury, Maria Hill ("How I Met Your Mother" star Cobie Smulders), Black Widow and Hawkeye were agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. in both the comics and "The Avengers," but we're not holding our breath for any A-list cameos should the pilot be picked up to series. Still, with Whedon's involvement, perhaps Jackson could be tempted to appear as a special guest star when sweeps roll around, and depending on the scope of production and "How I Met Your Mother's" longevity, it's not beyond the realm of possibility that Smulders could appear somewhere down the line.

Information on the story for the "S.H.I.E.L.D." pilot is still sparse, but we're crossing our fingers for a cameo from fan-favorite Agent Phil Coulson (Clark Gregg). The character seemed to die at the hands of Loki in "The Avengers" (although some conspiracy theorists believe his demise was a ruse masterminded by Nick Fury), but could always appear if the show is presented as a prequel to the film.

The pilot order is the latest in a line of investments that Disney (which owns Marvel and ABC) has made in Whedon of late. Earlier this month, it was announced that Whedon would be returning to write and direct the "Avengers" sequel for Marvel, a move that was far from a done deal as recently as July, when the writer-director admitted he had yet to decide whether he wanted to be involved with "Avengers 2" at Comic-Con.

Regardless of the show's ultimate fate, any network offering to bring Whedon back to TV is fine by us. The fan-favorite writer has had mixed results with scripted series since the end of "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" and "Angel" in the early aughts, with cult classic "Firefly" lasting only eleven episodes on Fox before being cancelled in 2002. Whedon's next project for Fox, the less beloved but no less ambitious "Dollhouse," lasted 26 episodes before it too was cancelled. Whedon, Whedon and Tancharoen's "Dr. Horrible" will make its TV debut on October 9 at 9 p.m. ET on The CW, after premiering exclusively online back in 2008.

UPDATE: Whedon moderated a Q&A with Ira Glass and Mike Birbiglia, screenwriters of "Sleepwalk With Me," after a screening of the movie at the Writers Guild Theater in Beverly Hills on Aug. 28. According to Cynthia Littleton of Variety (who Tweeted a few paraphrased quotes from the event), he shared a little more intel on "S.H.I.E.L.D." during the panel.
So, how would this work? Could they get Samuel L Jackson to do TV?
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Re: ABC orders Joss Whedon SHIELD pilot

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Re: ABC orders Joss Whedon SHIELD pilot

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FaxModem1 wrote:
So, how would this work? Could they get Samuel L Jackson to do TV?
Well if it's SHIELD and not "The Adventures of Nick Fury" staring Samuel J Jackson they could easily get Jackson to come in and spend a week filming his role with not a cameo role but a minor role. Maybe use him as a bookend character or a voice over intro work. How are they going to do this show? Is it like a X-Files evil villain/stolen Stark technology of the week? Is this a drama series? How exactly are they going to make a show about SHIELD if they don't involve super powers unless they it's a pure wetworks style show about all the nasty business SHIELD is used for by the government.
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Re: ABC orders Joss Whedon SHIELD pilot

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At least it's not Fox...
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Re: ABC orders Joss Whedon SHIELD pilot

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Zanfib wrote:At least it's not Fox...
But it could have been HBO... how awesome would that have been? A show with Boardwalk Empire or Game of Thrones budget and production values?

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Re: ABC orders Joss Whedon SHIELD pilot

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I definitely feel like the series could use at least a few cameos to make it feel like it's in continuity with the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Johannsson and Renner are probably too big-time to be regulars on television, but I'd be satisfied with them appearing in an episode or two. And I hear How I Met Your Mother might be ending soon, so I'm hopeful Smulders could end up as a regular.

There's just so many characters I'm hoping for appearances by... Taskmaster. Doc Samson. Luke Cage and Danny Rand. Hercules. Motherfucking Henry Peter Gyrich could be an asshole liaison!
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Re: ABC orders Joss Whedon SHIELD pilot

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I wouldn't mind if it was an X-files style show, or one like Torchwood. Either setup would work for SHIELD.
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Re: ABC orders Joss Whedon SHIELD pilot

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LadyTevar wrote:I wouldn't mind if it was an X-files style show, or one like Torchwood. Either setup would work for SHIELD.
If they operated in a vacuum, yeah. Unfortunately, they operate in the Marvel Universe so unless you want to move it out of continuity (wether with the comics, the movie universe, or even just the feel of the Marvel universe in general) you'd need at least semi-regular cameos by the Spandex Brigade because SHIELD does operate in an environment where those people are pretty definitely present.
If you park it in the movie universe you might get away with Stark phoning in here and there for a while what with there being all of six Avengers but I suspect sooner or later the audience is going to ask 'so where are the rest of the costumed guys?'
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Re: ABC orders Joss Whedon SHIELD pilot

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Anyone that plays a character has to believe that they may have movie roles that would go along with it.

Get cast as Hercules, Luke Cage, Iron Fist in the TV show and they might get the same role in the movie.

That might attract a higher level of talent than you would otherwise see in a TV show.

Very interesting.
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Re: ABC orders Joss Whedon SHIELD pilot

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I agree that it'd be nice to have cameos or occasional appearances by Fury, Hill, and others.

As to the continuity overlap with the movies, a focus on day-to-day operations might work out for the best. It could be justified in-universe due to political fallout from the Chitauri incursion; the agency's management could be busy with their own problems. After all, Fury did defy his superiors' direct orders in order to stop them from nuking New York City. And since they introduced Maria Hill, it could mean that Fury may be forced out, as was the case when Hill was introduced in the early 2000's.

But, it's too early to tell and we'll just have to wait and see.
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Re: ABC orders Joss Whedon SHIELD pilot

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The very fact that they're doing a SHIELD series means they're aiming this at least partially at Marvel fans, and those are eventually going to ask where the Tights Community dissapeared to. It needn't be any of the big names necessarily but sooner or later, if you want to keep it Marvel's SHIELD, somebody's going to ask that question.
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Re: ABC orders Joss Whedon SHIELD pilot

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Bright wrote:Motherfucking Henry Peter Gyrich could be an asshole liaison!
Though it probably doesn't matter to the MCU, he was said to have been killed in the first X-Men film.
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Re: ABC orders Joss Whedon SHIELD pilot

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The X-men films aren't part of the Marvel Film continuity since Sony owns the license. The X-men haven't been introduced in the MCU yet, I honestly don't know if they ever will be.
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Re: ABC orders Joss Whedon SHIELD pilot

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Mr Bean wrote:
Zanfib wrote:At least it's not Fox...
But it could have been HBO... how awesome would that have been? A show with Boardwalk Empire or Game of Thrones budget and production values?
Disney owns Marvel now, remember?
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Re: ABC orders Joss Whedon SHIELD pilot

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And Buffy was owned by Fox. Didn't stop it from airing on the WB (though it limited that run to 5 seasons on that channel).

That said, it's just easier for the company to air it on one of their channels. They can outsource it, but that occurs rarely.
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Re: ABC orders Joss Whedon SHIELD pilot

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While the film Buffy the Vampire Slayer was owned by Fox, Whedon owned the intellectual property.
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Re: ABC orders Joss Whedon SHIELD pilot

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DPDarkPrimus wrote:While the film Buffy the Vampire Slayer was owned by Fox, Whedon owned the intellectual property.
Uh, no. 20th Century Fox owns Buffy the Vampire Slayer, lock, stock, and barrel. Even the comics, which the studio has no real involvement in, all list them as the copyright owner. Not to mention why they can start a new Buffy movie project without any permission from Whedon.
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Re: ABC orders Joss Whedon SHIELD pilot

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Well what do you know? Thanks for the correction.
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Re: ABC orders Joss Whedon SHIELD pilot

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Majin Gojira wrote:And Buffy was owned by Fox. Didn't stop it from airing on the WB (though it limited that run to 5 seasons on that channel)..
The last two seasons then aired on UPN (ugh.....UPN....).
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Re: ABC orders Joss Whedon SHIELD pilot

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Skylon wrote:The last two seasons then aired on UPN (ugh.....UPN....).
I thought my implication was enough, but if you insist on being more explicit . . . Yes, it did air more seasons. The cost of licensing goes up after season 5, hence why the WB canceled it. UPN saw an opportunity, and we got two more seasons (of lesser overall quality).
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Re: ABC orders Joss Whedon SHIELD pilot

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somehow my 2000ad comics idled brain over here in the library read this as the ABC Warriors were joining the Avengers....

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