Marvel’s Agents of SHIELD Cast Teases Civil War Tie-In, More Inhumans

Marvel’s Agents of SHIELD Cast Teases Civil War Tie-In

Marvel’s Agents of SHIELD had a strong showing at WonderCon 2016. We got the chance to talk to stars Ming-Na Wen (May), Elizabeth Henstridge (Simmons), Henry Simmons (Mack), Chloe Bennet (Daisy), Luke Mitchell (Lincoln) and series producer Jeph Loeb about what we can expect to see the rest of this season. They teased the arrival of even more Inhumans and how the series will tie-in to the upcoming Captain America: Civil War.

SuperHeroHype: Where can we expect May to go for the rest of the season?

Ming-Na Wen: I think for May, it is going back into the fold, being Coulson’s right-hand person again and looking over him and making sure that whatever dark side he visited, he doesn’t stay there, that he doesn’t beat himself up. He still has a role as a leader. Right now, with all the chaos going on with Ward’s character being Hive, and the Inhumans, I feel that May becomes more of a protector as well as a stable force for the team.

SHH: Will Andrew come back this season?

Wen: If I could tell you that…

SHH: Will we finally get Fitz and Simmons together?

Elizabeth Henstridge: I don’t know, I hope so! Their friendship is in a good place right now, they are taking it one step at a time. We’ve seen kissy-kisses, but then there was that other guy, Will. Now he’s not in the picture, so now they are moving… cautiously. We’ll see, we’ll see. It’s looking positive.

SuperHeroHype: Mack hasn’t really had a focused story line this season. Is there anything we can look forward to?

Henry Simmons: Yeah, they’re going to get into Mack’s background a bit. I think I can say that there is an episode where you see the other side of the SHIELD agent; the private life, the families they have to leave behind. But that’s all I can say.

SHH: What kind of inhuman powers can we look forward to for the rest of the season?

Simmons: You are trying to get me in trouble! There are more Inhumans coming, I will say that.

SHH: Okay, something easy. What can you tell me about the trajectory of Mack’s character this season?

Simmons: I will say that Mack is wounded physically in so many episodes. Did you notice that? I’m getting beat up all the time! Emotionally, you are going to see some wounds as well. We’ve already seen how much he cares about Bobbi and Hunter, but it doesn’t stop there. He really cares about the people he works with. If they are in danger, then it effects him a great deal.

SHH: Can we look forward to you doing a guest spot on Most Wanted?

Simmons: I don’t know. That’s a good question. I love being on SHIELD; I would love a guest spot on Most Wanted. I love working with Adrienne Palicki and Nick Blood. I love them.

SHH: Daisy has been very pro-inhuman, getting very political. How is it going to escalate?

Chloe Bennet: She’s part of a group of people, and the team around her… there is a level of prejudice that people who aren’t familiar with this group of people. I can imagine that gets frustrating, as with any group that has any sort of prejudice against them. She has been lost her whole life and has just really wanted to be part of something. All of a sudden, she is part of SHIELD and part of the inhuman community. She is incredibly torn between the two, but you can’t really deny blood. Her strong opinions definitely start coming out these next couple of episodes. She’s having a hard time.

SHH: Lincoln has always had an iffy relationship with his own powers. How is that going to change now that he is in a relationship with Daisy?

Luke Mitchell: It’s going to become increasingly more challenging. There are some incidents that come up… nope, I don’t know if I can say that. It’s going to be very challenging. We’ll see how Lincoln reacts, especially within the dynamic of their relationship. Especially the argument they had over the cure. I don’t think Lincoln necessarily 100% believes in one side or the other; I think he’s just posing the question and having a meaningful discussion over what is a new discovery. I think that is the interesting thing about the team: they are always on the forefront of discovering new things, new ideas. When a new idea is brought to the table, there are questions that need to be raised.

SHH: How will the new Captain America movie affect SHIELD?

Wen: That’s an interesting question. We haven’t seen the film yet, and I really think that it is going to have some impact, but not to the level that Winter Soldier had, which was the demise of SHIELD. That really scared all of us!

Simmons: I honestly don’t know the answer to that.

Bennet: We’ve kind of been dealing with the “Civil War” on the show. That argument that Rosalind and Daisy had, and the one that Daisy and Lincoln had, those were all very Civil War-esque conversations. We’ve been dealing with that in a very Agents of SHIELD way for a while now. It will be threaded into the season, but we can’t really say what it is.

Mitchell: Yeah, we will definitely feel some of the ramifications of the movie.

Bennet: Chris Hemsworth comes [to the show] and we date for a while. That is an issue for Lincoln.

Jeph Loeb: I can’t be specific about that, other than to say that the outcome of what happens in that film…. it is a movie where, at its core, is about dealing with what to do with powered people. Should they be contained? Should they be government sponsored? That kind of thing. It is by no small coincidence that that is what this season has been about. We were a show that started out with the slogan, “Not all heroes are super.” Yet, now they are. Daisy Johnson is now part of our core team. As we have seen, not everyone on the show is cool with that.

Marvel is always best when it speaks to things that are happening out there [in the real world]. We live in a world right now where there are an awful lot of people that are afraid of differences, whether it is gender or race or religion. If we can tap into that, and let people see that the best answer is tolerance, and to learn about that sort of thing, as opposed to eradicate it, that would be the best thing that could happen, not only for our show but for humanity.

SHH: Have the politics of the last year or so been informing the direction of the show?

Loeb: Man’s inhumanity to man is not a new thing. When you start out, selling a show about the Inhumans, you know that’s what you are going to be talking about. The Inhumans have been with us for 50 years. So the short answer is no, but it certainly never hurts when someone is turning the volume up on a daily basis, and we are dealing with it on a regular basis.

Bennet: The topic of Inhumans is so relevant in so many ways, at least in my opinion, and when I have discussions with the writers about it. Comic books are nostalgic and very colorful. The themes that have been threaded throughout this season, of Inhumans being a group of people that people have prejudices against, that people feel they can force their opinions on because they don’t know about them. It feels relevant of race issues going on in our country; of the LGBT community being repressed because of who they are. [Inhumans] were born this way, it’s in their blood. But at the same time, the issue of gun violence and gun control also comes into play because this group of people are also potentially lethal. When you blend those two incredibly relevant topics… there is no right opinion. It has been a struggle to play because you don’t know. When we had that argument, both sides are right. Daisy and Rosalind had a very specific argument about it: “For every Daisy Johnson, there is a Lash. It’s ignorant for you to think any different.” That is so true, but it is also a group of people, they do have emotions, but they are technically as dangerous as weapons. How do you handle it? It’s so great for our show because it makes for great TV, but I don’t know if there is ever going to be a right or wrong answer.

I think they do a really great job of threading it organically into the show. Hopefully when kids watch it, it’s kind of in the background of what’s going on, hidden amongst great banter and great stunts. I think our writers do a really great job with that.

(Photo Credit: Getty Images)