MONDAY, AUGUST 5, 2013
MARVEL'S AGENTS OF S.H.I.E.L.D. AT TELEVISION CRITICS ASSOCIATION
ABC staged a panel for Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. at the Television Critics Association on Sunday.
Panelists included Clark Gregg (Coulson), Iain De Caestecker (Leo Fitz), Brett Dalton (Grant Ward), Ming-Na Wen (Melinda May), Chloe Bennet (Skye), Elizabeth Henstridge (Jemma Simmons), as well as executive producers/co-creators Joss Whedon, Jed Whedon, Maurissa Tancharoen and executive producers Jeffrey Bell and Jeph Loeb.
Following are highlights:
* Joss Whedon said the creators are still working out synergy with the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but that those things are bonus stuff. They don't want to detract from the main cast.
* Joss Whedon said the show's creators have gotten a lot of trust, which is different than freedom. It wasn't a question of the producers/Marvel getting out of the way, it was about working together.
* How involved will Joss Whedon be? "As much as an executive producer can be who is also making a movie."
For Henstridge and De Caestecker, it was easier to speak in their own accents in the series than in American accents.
* Gregg said the internationality of the show's cast reflects S.H.I.E.L.D.'s nature.
* Joss Whedon said ABC wanted people to be as interested in the characters as they are in the crisis of the week, so that was the emphasis.
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* Joss Whedon said he's always been interested in seeing groups on the fringe and that the S.H.I.E.L.D. group is out there by themselves, which will be both an advantage and a disadvantage.
* On fighting styles -- Melinda May's a ninja, Grant Ward is more of a throwdown, boxer type.
* Ming-Na Wen said she's so proud to show off her guns (arms). She said it's great to be able to be work out, do the training and carry the character off. She said she feels like she's in the best shape of her life.
* Bennet said that, even though Skye is a computer hacker, she's not the anti-social Girl with the Dragon Tattoo type; she's actually better with people than machines.
* Jed Whedon said the approach to deal with pressure on the show is similar to the approach to Dr. Horrible, which they didn't think anyone would see.
Gregg says he doesn't feel any pressure. He said he feels like they have a cool idea with an amazing team.
* Will J. August Richards be returning after the pilot? Whedon said he could neither confirm nor deny, but he thought Richards was great, "so do that math."
* Tancharoen said they won't be making references to Marvel for the sake of making references. They'll be in there if they make sense.
Bell brought up the example of, when they come up with a type of character and thinking of a name, they'll go through the comics history and see if there's a character with similar powers/personality where they can take that name.
* Joss Whedon said that the explanation for Coulson's return will be teased out over the course of episodes.
* Gregg described Coulson as a "magnificent chain letter" that started as a character in two scenes in Iron Man with Jon Favreau; then when he started riffing off of RDJ, his role grew. Then he was Thor with Kenneth Branagh. Each director/writer/creator has added something new to the character.
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* Jed Whedon said there will be a challenge for the agents every week, with overarching mythology.
* What it's like to work on a project that's kept so under wraps? Dalton said he likes keeping secrets, and there's a bigger payoff/reveal when it happens. Bennet joked that it's a good thing they like each other a lot, because they are the only ones they can talk to about stuff.
* How important is it for the members of this team to not be super powered? Joss Whedon said the thing that appealed to him was the idea of the people who don't have the super powers, and everybody matters. The people that get shoved to the side in a giant epic movie that only lasts for two hours can step into the spotlight.
* Bell said the show will feature international locations.
Copyright © 2013, The Comics Continuum