Having just announced this past weekend that its placed a full season order for Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., ABC is wasting little time in kick-starting the marketing campaign for Joss Whedon's small-screen spin-off of The Avengers. The network has confirmed today that Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. will go up against NCIS, airing on Tuesdays at 8pm (although a premiere date is yet to be announced), while three new stills have arrived online along with a selection of cast portraits and a new extended trailer; first up are the publicity stills...
![Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.]( "Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.")
![Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.]( "Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.")
![Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.]( "Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.")
Followed by the new trailer:
And now the character portraits, featuring Agent Phil Coulson (Clark Gregg), Agent Melinda May (Ming-Na Win), Agent Grant Ward (Brett Dalton), Agent Leo Fitz (Iain De Caestecker), Agent Jemma Simmons (Elisabeth Henstridge) and Skye (Chloe Bennet)...
![Agent Phil Coulson Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.]( "Agent Phil Coulson Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.")
![Agent Melinda May Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.]( "Agent Melinda May Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.")
![Agent Grant Ward Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.]( "Agent Grant Ward Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.")
![Agent Leo Fitz Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.]( "Agent Leo Fitz Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.")
![Agent Jemma Simmons Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.]( "Agent Jemma Simmons Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.")
![Skye Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.]( "Skye Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.")
Noticeably absent from the cast portraits is recent addition J. August Richards (Angel), whose appearance in the first promo seemed to indicate that Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. would introduce the character of Luke Cage; however, according to former UGO editor Chris Radtke, Richards' character isn't Power Man, but rather Elvin Daryl Haliday, a.k.a. Rage of New Warriors and Avengers fame. Take this as a rumour for now, but with Marvel Studios' chief Kevin Feige recently suggesting that a script is in the works for a Luke Cage movie, it would be surprising to see the Hero for Hire popping up on the small screen first.
And finally, before we wrap things up, here's a few comments from ABC president Paul Lee, via TheDailyBeast: "We don’t normally talk about testing, but [Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.] tested so well in all four quadrants. Joss Whedon knows how to create great television with great relationships at the heart of it. It has relationships and humor but also the promise of the Marvel franchise… We think it’s driven by character and will bring a wider audience to us."
Followed by the new trailer:
And now the character portraits, featuring Agent Phil Coulson (Clark Gregg), Agent Melinda May (Ming-Na Win), Agent Grant Ward (Brett Dalton), Agent Leo Fitz (Iain De Caestecker), Agent Jemma Simmons (Elisabeth Henstridge) and Skye (Chloe Bennet)...
Noticeably absent from the cast portraits is recent addition J. August Richards (Angel), whose appearance in the first promo seemed to indicate that Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. would introduce the character of Luke Cage; however, according to former UGO editor Chris Radtke, Richards' character isn't Power Man, but rather Elvin Daryl Haliday, a.k.a. Rage of New Warriors and Avengers fame. Take this as a rumour for now, but with Marvel Studios' chief Kevin Feige recently suggesting that a script is in the works for a Luke Cage movie, it would be surprising to see the Hero for Hire popping up on the small screen first.
And finally, before we wrap things up, here's a few comments from ABC president Paul Lee, via TheDailyBeast: "We don’t normally talk about testing, but [Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.] tested so well in all four quadrants. Joss Whedon knows how to create great television with great relationships at the heart of it. It has relationships and humor but also the promise of the Marvel franchise… We think it’s driven by character and will bring a wider audience to us."