‘Agents of SHIELD’ Star Teases Mack’s Departure

Ever since he joined the team Alphoso ‘Mack’ Mackenzie has acted as the heart, soul, and moral compass in Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., but their latest adventure is pushing him to his limits.

Actor Henry Simmons recently spoke about his character growing increasingly fed up with SHIELD antics, teasing that the jaunt to the future/space could see him walking away from the team.

“I’d say Mack is the kind of guy, he could step away tomorrow,” Simmons said to ET. “I know he’s starting to think in terms of a future with Yo-Yo, and yeah, I think he could step away very quickly. He keeps reminding Coulson. He’s ready.”

But first, of course, they’ll have to get back to the present day and save humanity from this dire future, where Earth is destroyed and the remaining population live under Kree rule. Then there’s the matter of their missing teammate Fitz, who finally shows up in this week’s episode.

Being in space has certainly put Mack and the rest of the team in a situation they aren’t used to.

“It’s incredibly new, a new domain where there are entities and people that are much more powerful than us, and we don’t have our resources,” Simmons said. “We have to figure out how to survive. Usually it’s just fighting people and beating back bad guys, but now we have to survive.”

While being forced into the future, into outer space, would be difficult to process in its own right, this latest adventure comes off the heels of the team’s escape from the artificial reality of the Framework.

Mack was a happy father there, raising a version of his daughter who tragically passed away many years ago in the real world. And he’s still coming to terms with what happened in the Framework.

“I think it has definitely left a scar on him,” Simmons said. “But I do believe — and we saw a bit of it at the end of last season — that it has made him appreciate the relationships much more that he has now — particularly with Yo-Yo… Where he’s been reluctant to fight so much in the past, I think now, because Yo-Yo is part of the equation, not that he’s bloodthirsty, but he’s more willing to do whatever it takes to protect the people that he loves.”

In order to get back home, the team will likely need help from Fitz (who, in turn, will need some help from an old friend).

Find out if the Agents of SHIELD succeed in the newest episode, “Rewind,” airing Friday on ABC.