Next year, the Marvel Cinematic Universe is expected to release its most ambitious project yet. Avengers: Infinity War will kick off a climatic showdown between the MCU’s heroes and Thanos after more than a decade, and a lot of preparation has been put into motion for the film. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 and Thor: Ragnarok will directly set-up the third Avengers film, and it looks like Agents of SHIELD will play into the storyline as well.
Recently, one of the TV drama’s stars appeared at Phoenix Comic-Con to talk about his work with Agents of SHIELD. Gabriel Luna, who plays Ghost Rider, was asked point-blank how the show will tie into Avengers: Infinity War next year. Of course, the actor could not give a direct answer, but his response did lend credence to one major fan-theory circling the Internet these days.
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According to Omega Underground, Luna was coy about any spoiler-ish reveals, but the actor did say that an Agents of SWORD storyline would be a perfect crossover event.
If you are not familiar with the organization known as SWORD, then you can catch up on its history. The acronym SWORD stands for ‘Sentient World Observation and Response Department’ and it acts as a sister organization to SHIELD. While the latter group protects Earth, SWORD was designed to monitor the rest of the known universe from theaters. In the comics, Special Agent Abigail Brand heads up SWORD as the space equivalent of SHIELD’s Nick Fury.
Fans began speculating that Agents of SHIELD would move into a SWORD arc given the last bit of its season five finale. In the show’s ending moments, fans watched as Agent Coulson’s team was kidnapped by military operatives before the scene shifted. Coulson was then seen waking up in a room before heading to a window which opened up to space. Fans were not sure how the agent ended up in the stars, but his potential involvement with SWORD would definitely be one good answer to such a question.
If Agents of SHIELD did lean into a SWORD arc, then the show would be poised to address Avengers: Infinity War with ease. After all, the film is expected to follow Thanos as the Mad Titan collects all the Infinity Stones. The power-mad villain will then wreak havoc on the universe, and SWORD will no doubt want to stop that from happening.
Still, there is one issue with SWORD being brought into the MCU. The group was created by Joss Whedon and John Cassaday in Astonishing X-Men. As such, it seems likely that the property is tied into the X-Men franchise and has its filming rights securely situated with 20th Century Fox. Still, Marvel could find a loophole around the issue by creating a new director for SWORD along with a different name. So, if that’s the case, the creatives over at Marvel Television better whip up a real good acronym for the extra-terrestrial organization ASAP.
You can check out the first synopsis for Avengers: Infinity War below:
“As the Avengers and their allies have continued to protect the world from threats too large for any one hero to handle, a new danger has emerged from the cosmic shadows: Thanos. A despot of intergalactic infamy, his goal is to collect all six Infinity Stones, artifacts of unimaginable power, and use them to inflict his twisted will on all of reality. Everything the Avengers have fought for has led up to this moment – the fate of Earth and existence itself has never been more uncertain.”
Avengers: Infinity War is described by Marvel Studios as the culmination of everything in the Marvel Cinematic Universe since Iron Man in 2008. The movie is filming now under directors Anthony and Joe Russo, from a screenplay by Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely.
The expansive confirmed cast includes Robert Downey, Jr., Chris Evans, Chris Hemsworth, Mark Ruffalo, Jeremy Renner, Scarlett Johansson, Tom Holland, Elizabeth Olsen, Paul Bethany, Sebastian Stan, Benedict Cumberbatch, Benedict Wong, Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Karen Gillan, Vin Diesel, Dave Bautista, Bradley Cooper, Pom Klementieff, and Josh Brolin as the villain Thanos. Avengers: Infinity War and its as-yet-untitled sequel are filming back-to-back for a May 4, 2018 and May 3, 2019 release, respectively.
More Avengers: Infinity War News: Avengers Infinity War: 5 Marvel Infinity Saga Easter Eggs Fans Want / Benedict Wong Fanboys Out About Delivering Infinity Stone Line & Joining Avengers: Infinity War / Russo Brothers Confirm Next Two Avengers Movies Still Directly Connected
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