Agents of SHIELD Showrunner Talks Ghost Rider & Doctor Strange Connection

Agents of SHIELD made its big return to television for season 4 this week, with the charge being [...]

Agents of SHIELD made its big return to television for season 4 this week, with the charge being led by the new Marvel Cinematic Universe version of Ghost Rider. SHIELD's storyline for The Rider involves Daisy/Quake/Skye investigating the hate group The Watchdogs, only to find Ghost Rider hunting them too. Meanwhile, a strange mystical-powered threat has been unleashed, causing people to go mad with aggression.

Ghost Rider vs Doctor Strange
(Photo: Marvel Comics)

The cast and crew of Agents of SHIELD have all spent time discussing Ghost Rider's role in the MCU, what his appearance means, and how the Spirit of Vengeance is tied to one other particular character: Doctor Strange. Strange will of course be breaking out into the spotlight when his solo movie debuts in theaters this fall, and in meeting Doctor Strange, we've been told, we will meet a whole new mystical side of the MCU we didn't even know exists.

Agents of SHIELD showrunners MaurissaTancharoen and Jed Whedon were discussing the introduction of Ghost Rider and its impact on the larger MCU with EW, and they reiterated what Ghost Rider actor Gabriel Luna recently said, regarding how the character's storyline on SHIELD will synch up to the release of Doctor Strange in theaters:

"The same questions that our team is exploring leading up to the premiere of Doctor Strange, perhaps some of those concepts will be reflected in the movie and then carried through," EP Maurissa Tancharoen says. Adds Whedon: "Hopefully some of the questions that we're asking will be answered by it and then pose some new themes and ideas for us to explore."

"Doctor Strange will introduce some new ideas, but we're starting to lay the first brick in the yellow brick road to that," Whedon says.

The showrunners go on to describe a season that be more of a thematic tie-in to the happenings of the MCU (Doctor Strange and magic), rather than some of the clunky direct tie-in episodes we've seen in the past (see: Thor: The Dark World). We've already written about how the MCU needs more supernatural elements, and how Ghost Rider is the perfect ambassador for making that happen.

Agents of SHIELD is airing season 4 on Tuesdays @ 10/9c on ABC.

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