SPOILER WARNING for the Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Season 3 finale.
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The Season 3 finale of Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. capped off with an interesting epilogue. Six months after defeating Hive, we see that Daisy Johnson has left S.H.I.E.L.D. Coulson and Mack are working as partners to hunt her down, but Coulson is no longer the man in charge, and it isn’t Mack taking his place this time. Instead, they both report to a new director, but who could that director be?
Here are five clear candidates for the job.
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Maria Hill
Maria Hill was Nick Fury’s second in command, and probably should have succeeded him as director by rights. In the comics, she is the director of S.H.I.E.L.D., and has been (on and off) for years. Cobie Smulders would be a welcome addition to the cast of Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D..
However, last we saw Hill, she was helping Nick Fury rescue civilians from Sokovia with a helicarrier (which mysteriously disappeared afterwards. Where did Fury hide that thing?). Hill is most likely helping out Fury with whatever it is he’s doing, and that’s probably keeping her too busy for a demanding day job like being director of S.H.I.E.L.D.
Tony Stark
So Marvel Studios just put out a film called Captain America: Civil War, which was loosely inspired by the comic book Civil War. At the end of that comic, Tony Stark is put in charge of S.H.I.E.L.D., which is now tasked with policing unregistered superheroes. So could this be the route the MCU is going as well?
While it may be the fan favorite choice, it seems unlikely. Robert Downey Jr. doesn’t come cheap, Tony Stark as director of S.H.I.E.L.D. would practically a non-presence. They could always give him the title and have him communicate with Coulson’s group via an intermediary, like Maria Hill for example, but that seems like an unnecessary hoop to jump through.
Glenn Talbot
Glenn Talbot has been something of a thorn in Coulson’s side for a while now, but could he really be director of S.H.I.E.L.D.?
Maybe. He’s already a regular guest star on the series, so it wouldn’t be surprising to see him come back in a new role.
The problem with this is that they’ve already used him as a kind of puppet leader as head of the ATCU. It’s hard to imagine Coulson and Mack taking him seriously as director after the way they all interacted during Season 3.
Still, Director Talbot is a definite possibility.
Thaddeus “Thunderbolt” Ross
Another potential candidate following Civil War, “Thunderbolt Ross” definitely has the chops, considering he’s a former Lieutenant General in the armed forces.
The problem here is that he’s probably overqualified for the job. As of Civil War, Ross is the Secretary of State. It’s hard to imagine him stepping down from that position to oversee S.H.I.E.L.D.
No, if the writers decided they wanted to use Thunderbolt’s presence, they could just as easily do that with him still in the position of Secretary of State. Pulling him into S.H.I.E.L.D. directly would be an odd move…though not an impossible one.
Melinda May
Agent Melinda May is the new director of S.H.I.E.L.D. I mean…I don’t know that for a fact, but it seems like the most logical answer, right?
Coulson, Mack, Daisy, Fitz, and Simmons are all accounted for in the epilogue. May is the only one who doesn’t get a scene or at least get named. Coulson and Mack would both be suitably intimidated by her if she had that position of power. She’s the logical next in line for the job if Coulson were to step down. It just all fits.
Sure, it’s fun to speculate about Iron Man, Director of S.H.I.E.L.D. becoming a thing in the MCU, but I’ll put my money on the Cavalry taking the jobn.
