Marvel Openly Teases MCU-Set Agents Of SHIELD Sequel Series 6 Years After The Finale

Published Oct 9, 2026, 10:07 AM EDT

Once head of Screen Rant's Star Wars coverage and co-lead of Superheroes, Tom Bacon now works with the movies and books teams. He's a lifelong fan of the fantasy and sci-fi genres, and loves franchises such as Doctor Who and Marvel. You can find him on Twitter @TomABacon, on LinkedIn @tabacon, or on Muckrack under tombacon.

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Six years after Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. came to a triumphant finale, Marvel Studios is finally teasing the show's return. Starring Clark Gregg and Chloe Bennet, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. was the first true Marvel TV show. Despite that, it's sadly under-represented in the modern MCU; behind-the-scenes drama between Marvel Studios and Marvel Television became an impenetrable obstacle to crossing Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. into the movies themselves.

S.H.I.E.L.D. stars like Chloe Bennet are still angry that the mainstream MCU is yet to acknowledge their show, but they're eager to return to Marvel. Everything old is new again in the Disney+ era, after all; Charlie Cox's Matt Murdock has blazed the trail for a full-on Defenders reunion in Daredevil: Born Again season 3, while Jon Bernthal's Punisher appeared in Spider-Man Brand New Day. Viewers are naturally hopeful that Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. will come back as well.

The MCU's Zodiac Series Looks A Lot Like An Agents Of SHIELD Sequel

Marvel has finally confirmed the next live-action TV show, a mysterious spy drama called Zodiac. Filming is due to start in 2027, ahead of a 2028 release; all we know at this point is that Marvel is returning to the world of espionage. But the logo is particularly exciting, given it shows two obvious logos. The first is the familiar S.H.I.E.L.D. logo, and the second is drawn from a major S.H.I.E.L.D. story in the comics.

In the movies S.H.I.E.L.D. was officially shut down in Captain America: The Winter Soldier. The TV show successfully integrated this into its ongoing story, however, with a resurrected Agent Coulson taking charge of a reformed S.H.I.E.L.D. By the end of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., they'd become heroes on a cosmic scale. But, of course, the movies themselves never acknowledged this wider lore at all.

What The Zodiac & Great Wheel Groups Are In The Marvel Comics

The S.H.I.E.L.D. logo is a pretty generic Marvel reference, but the Great Wheel is far more important one. This was created by Jonathan Hickman, one of the most influential comic book writers of the present day (he created Thanos' Black Order, and penned the original Secret Wars 2015 event that's being adapted into next year's Avengers movie). In Hickman's stories, S.H.I.E.L.D.'s history runs back millennia — and so does Hydra's.

The Great Wheel was established by the time-traveling Leonardo Da Vinci, who assembled 11 of the world's greatest spymasters and gave each one a name from the Zodiac (Leonardo himself was the twelfth, Ares). He sent them on a series of three missions, each connected to S.H.I.E.L.D.'s secret history, and wanted the Great Wheel to remain a secret afterward.

And here's the crucial thing; this story was told in Jonathan Hickman's Secret Warriors run. That comic has just two stars: Nick Fury and Daisy Johnson, aka Quake, the character Chloe Bennet played in Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.

Zodiac Would Be The Obvious Place To Reintroduce Agents Of SHIELD Characters

Marvel Studios has dabbled in spycraft before; The Winter Soldier was basically a spy epic. But recent forays have been disappointing; Secret Invasion is often considered the worst MCU TV show of all time. That said, there have been consistent reports Marvel want to try again, with the studio reportedly impressed by the grounded style taken by the DCU's Lanterns. Zodiac is clearly the result, and Marvel will surely see it as an opportunity for redemption.

Excitingly, Agent Coulson actor Clark Gregg himself shared the Zodiac image with the simple comment "Cool." It didn't take long for his followers to join the dots; that was his character's last line of dialogue in Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. It's far from confirmation that Zodiac will bring back Coulson, picking up after Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. wrapped up six years ago, but it certainly seems possible.

Personally, I'd argue this would be a smart decision on Marvel's part. Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. ran for seven successful seasons, developing a rich mythology wider than its MCU foundation. There's no way Marvel would use the S.H.I.E.L.D. logo like this, still less reference a comic book arc that starred S.H.I.E.L.D. characters, without knowing what viewers would expect. If Marvel choose a different path, there will be quite the backlash.

Agents Of SHIELD Deserves Its Recognition In The MCU

Frankly, it's about time Marvel Studios brought Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. back in the mainstream MCU. The original TV occupied a strange space as generally being movie-adjacent; but skilled writers gradually expanded the story so connections became thematic rather than explicit. The highlight was probably season 4, which used Doctor Strange as the launchpad to introduce supernatural elements such as the Darkhold and Gabriel Luna's All-New Ghost Rider.

Looking back, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. certainly compares favorably to anything Marvel Studios has made for Disney+. It's true that Disney+ budgets have been higher, but Marvel Studios' biggest mistake was failing to realize that TV shows and movies are different things; Feige and his team tried to make movies split into chapters, rather than actual TV shows. Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., in contrast, knew exactly what it was. After a stumbling start, it became one of the best Marvel productions around.

Question 1 of 3

multi-answer Select all that apply If Zodiac does bring back Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. characters, what are you most hoping to see?

Daisy Johnson/Quake taking a major lead role

Daisy Johnson/Quake taking a major lead role 50.0%

Phil Coulson officially restored to MCU canon

Phil Coulson officially restored to MCU canon 50.0%

Cameos from the core S.H.I.E.L.D. team (May, Fitz, Simmons, Mack, Yo-Yo, etc.)

Cameos from the core S.H.I.E.L.D. team (May, Fitz, Simmons, Mack, Yo-Yo, etc.) 0.0%

Deeper exploration of S.H.I.E.L.D.’s ancient history and the Great Wheel

Deeper exploration of S.H.I.E.L.D.’s ancient history and the Great Wheel 0.0%

Crossovers with current MCU heroes in a grounded spy setting

Crossovers with current MCU heroes in a grounded spy setting 0.0%

The point is perfectly illustrated by Secret Invasion, because there's an odd sense in which Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. told that story back in season 4, using Life Model Decoys rather than Skrulls. Marvel Studios stumbled, but Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. soared, making that the final act in a thrilling three-block drama. Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. beat the movies to time-travel in season 5, and again did it better. Even the multiverse became central to season 7, and was handled in a more consistent manner.

Recent decisions by Marvel have implicitly acknowledged how good these older TV shows were; it's no coincidence that Daredevil: Born Again has been the only ongoing live-action MCU TV show on Disney+. Zodiac is Marvel's best chance yet to correct one of the MCU's greatest mistakes, finally incorporating Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. into the main story. That logo isn't quite a promise, but it's definitely a clue, and the fanbase has good reason to be excited about the possibilities right now.