When it was revealed in August that Marvel was taking the comic book powerhouse to the small screen with "S.H.I.E.L.D.," and that ABC had already ordered up a pilot, it was clear this was no mere idea they were just kicking around. Now that they have Joss Whedon on retainer through 2015, Marvel isn't wasting a moment, and casting is now starting on the show that they hope will expand their reach into every home across the country.
With Whedon tentatively slated to direct the pilot (schedule permitting), with Jed Whedon and Maurissa Tancharoen co-writing (and Joss may join them), casting is now underway to find the agents who will fly under the organization run by Nick Fury. Nope, none of these characters can be found in the comics, but then again, they could just be fake names to throw geeks off the trail — or they could be new inventions entirely. And while descriptions on casting sheets generally tend to be pretty simplified, these do give a sense of the tone of the group of people we'll be spending time with (eventually) each week. But seriously, "shared nerd tendencies"? That makes us want to stay very…far…away.
Take a look below. What are your thoughts? Do these folks represent what you think "S.H.I.E.L.D." should be? Is Skye a superhero in disguise? Weigh in below. [TV Line]
SKYE | This late-20s woman sounds like a dream: fun, smart, caring and confident – with an ability to get the upper hand by using her wit and charm.
AGENT GRANT WARD | Quite the physical specimen and “cool under fire,” he sometimes botches interpersonal relations. He’s a quiet one with a bit of a temper, but he’s the kind of guy that grows on you.
AGENT ALTHEA RICE | Also known as “The Calvary,” this hard-core soldier has crazy skills when it comes to weapons and being a pilot. But her experiences have left her very quiet and a little damaged.
AGENT LEO FITZ and AGENT JEMMA SIMMONS | These two came through training together and still choose to spend most of their time in each other’s company. Their sibling-like relationship is reinforced by their shared nerd tendencies – she deals with biology and chemistry, he’s a whiz at the technical side of weaponry.
Just give us Titus Welliver and Lizzy Caplan…
Hm… sounds familiar…
Skye = Inara
Ward = Mal
Rice = Zoe
Leo = geeky Jayne
Jemma = medical Kaylee
These all sound like Whedon character archtypes to a tee. Skye = Buffy, Grant Ward = Angel/Spike/Jayne, Althea Rice = Faith/Zoe, Leo Fitz & Jemma Simmons = Xander & Willow/Simon & River Tam.
Marvel has said that the Mockingbird-based show for ABC Family is not going to happen so the character can be folded into SHIELD (Mockingbird is also a SHIELD agent in the Avengers cartoon). So expect to see the name Bobbi Morse pop up and maybe even Jessica Drew (Spider-Woman).
From what I just read… I feel like they want people to solve these, that they're more of riddles.
Agent Grant Ward – The Hulk. Think about it, they're using the name "Grant Ward" to cover up the actual character. "he sometimes botches interpersonal relations. Heâs a quiet one with a bit of a temper (BRUCE BANNER), but heâs the kind of guy that GROWS ON YOU." Does anyone else see this???
Agent Althea Rice – This seems to me that it could be no other than Natasha Romanov, The Black Widow. Think about it, yet again it's just another cover-up name. "This hard-core soldier has crazy skills when it comes to weapons and being a pilot (Black Widow is the Pilot for The Avengers! Not to mention she is bad-ass with weapons). But her experiences have left her very quiet and a little damaged (When she speaks in The Avengers about what happened to her in Russia, and how she wants to "Remove the Red from her past," perfectly portrays this)."
Agent Leo Fits and Agent Jemma Simmons – I know I just said that the above character could be Black Widow, but there is very good reason as to why this couple could be Hawkeye and Black Widow! I'm a little more speculant about this one, it's not AS possible, but the possibility is still there. "These two came through training together and still choose to spend most of their time in each otherâs company" Hawkeye and Black Widow. This next part is what throws me off, "she deals with biology and chemistry, heâs a whiz at the technical side of weaponry." The technical side of weaponry sounds like it could be Hawkeye, you know? And, correct me if I'm wrong, but at some point in The Avengers didn't Black Widow say that she was good with biology and chemistry? I could be totally mistaken but I think she might have said that, and then of course she was helping heal Hawkeye with some magical bio-stuff
Overall I think these character bios are more of cover-up names and hints to characters we all already know, and we're just supposed to figure it out.
Nah….with such descriptions I would not be particularly interested in seeing this. Superficial and shallow.