Marvel TV Boss Addresses The Question Of Whether Agents of SHIELD And Agent Carter Are MCU Canon After Years Of Debate

After the Marvel Cinematic Universe timeline has started to canonize past Marvel TV shows like Daredevil, Agents of SHIELD and Agent Carter get a clarification from Marvel Studios. While Disney+ is the main source for Marvel Studios TV shows, fans are still hoping to see the ABC era of Marvel series being more acknowledged in the MCU continuity. With shows like Agents of SHIELD and Agent Carter still unclear where they are in the overall canon, the ABC dramas may finally be getting close to being placed in the Earth-616 timeline.

ScreenRant’s Joe Deckelmeier recently caught up with Marvel Studios’ Head of TV, Streaming, and Animation, Brad Winderbaum, to talk What If…? season 3, and the executive briefly brought up Agents of SHIELD and Agent Carter as far their MCU canon status. While not revealing too many details, Winderbaum said he enjoys thinking about trying to “square those ABC shows with the canon,” as he stated the following:

Brad Winderbaum: Well, I’ll tell you this, and put it to you like this. It’s exciting for me to think about how to square those ABC shows with the canon. That, to me, if you know me and the way my brain works, that is fun territory to imagine.
ScreenRant: Well, I have a list that breaks down episodically where it would fit into the MCU. So I’ll send it to you after this.
Brad Winderbaum: I need it. I need it.

With Winderbaum’s latest comments, it sounds like Marvel Studios may be trying to properly figure out where Agents of SHIELD and Agent Carter fit into the timeline in ways that would make sense creatively. It’s crucial to remember that before the Disney+ shows from Marvel Studios, there was a separate Marvel TV division that wasn’t overseen by Kevin Feige. All the ABC, Netflix, and Hulu Marvel shows had Jeph Loeb as their TV overseer, meaning Feige didn’t have a hands-on role before Marvel TV was absorbed into his Marvel Studios purview as chief creative officer.

Since Winderbaum didn’t work on Agents of SHIELD or Agent Carter, there are a lot of seasons of content for him and his team to look over when it comes to figuring out where they all could land within the overall MCU. When it comes to the Agent Carter cast, and the story their show was telling, it is likely easier for Marvel Studios to position the ABC drama in canon, since it takes place right after Captain America: The First Avenger. However, since Agents of SHIELD ran until season 7 and dealt with time travel, that is a bigger challenge, especially within Phase 3, as that is when the show did fewer tie-ins to the movies.

Given how much commentary the Marvel fans have made when it comes to the lack of Agents of SHIELD characters and references in the movie franchise, it is great to hear that Winderbaum may finally be trying to fit the show, and even Agent Carter, into the MCU timeline. It wouldn’t be shocking if one day, similar to what happened with the Marvel-Netflix shows this year, Agents of SHIELD and Agent Carter’s past seasons are properly slotted into the Disney+ timeline. But until then, fans can always relive every season of Agents of SHIELD and Agent Carter through Disney+ or on Blu-ray/DVD.

What If…?
season 3 premieres December 22 on Disney+.