Even Clark Gregg Says He Missed the Heartbreaking Agents of SHIELD Moment That Severed Its MCU Connection

Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. was Marvel’s first big TV swing, the one that tried to stitch weekly TV into the fabric of the MCU. It worked… until the movies changed course. Now, Clark Gregg is looking back at what clicked, what fell away, and how that show might have accidentally helped rewire TV.

The MCU tie that loosened

Early on, S.H.I.E.L.D. lived and breathed the MCU timeline. Then Captain America: The Winter Soldier detonated the Hydra twist, the show pivoted hard, and that tight link started to fade in later seasons as the larger franchise evolved. Gregg told Variety he did miss that streamlined connection — especially when the Season 1 Hydra crossover blew the doors off the series and Marvel ringers dropped in. Samuel L. Jackson and Cobie Smulders both showed up, and for a minute it felt like the movies and the show were sharing the same bloodstream. He also says he was fine with the shift because the series kept changing in interesting ways.

The show that learned to stand on its own

Once it stopped chasing movie crossovers, S.H.I.E.L.D. dove into corners the films still haven’t touched: Ghost Rider, the dystopian Framework arc, and a bunch of stranger, pulpy sci-fi detours. It became its own thing — arguably the move that kept it lively for seven seasons. For the continuity diehards, the Winter Soldier twist didn’t just break the status quo — it kind of unshackled the writers room.

Did S.H.I.E.L.D. help change TV?

Gregg thinks they were early passengers on the whole cinematic-TV wave that really took off in the early 2010s. He points to shows like Game of Thrones and, later, Watchmen as proof the bar got higher fast — visually, narratively, the whole deal. And he’s pretty clear that S.H.I.E.L.D. was first through the Marvel door, trying to translate blockbuster storytelling to a weekly format.

"I was always proud of us for being the first ones through the door in terms of the Marvel stuff, trying to bring that to a weekly television format."

He also admitted he was curious about Marvel Studios’ Disney+ mini-series before they launched — and felt like he already knew the playbook, because S.H.I.E.L.D. had trialed how to make Marvel work on TV years earlier.

Marvel’s TV sprawl problem

Back in the pre-Endgame days, Marvel’s small-screen footprint was relatively focused: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., Agent Carter, and the Netflix Defenders shows. They were made outside Marvel Studios proper and only loosely connected to the films, but they expanded the world without overwhelming it.

Once Marvel Studios jumped headfirst into a full slate of Disney+ series, the brand got crowded by its own content. S.H.I.E.L.D. benefited from being the only weekly Marvel show in town — more room to breathe, more attention to the details. Now it often feels like every project has to set up the next one, which can dilute individual shows and put homework pressure on the movies. Shrinking the slate and focusing on fewer, better projects would go a long way toward making the MCU feel sharp again.

Quick facts and where to watch

• Series: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.
• Seasons: 7
• Creators: Maurissa Tancharoen, Jed Whedon, Joss Whedon
• Main cast: Clark Gregg, Ming-Na Wen, Brett Dalton, Chloe Bennet
• IMDb: 7.5/10
• Rotten Tomatoes: 95% Tomatometer | 91% Audience Score
• Streaming (US): Disney+

Do you think the MCU has gotten too crowded, or do you like having a buffet? I’m curious where you land.