The proposed Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D. spinoff is back on. ABC has given a pilot order to Marvel’s Most Wanted, a drama project starring Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. standouts Adrianne Palicki and Nick Blood and revolving around their respective characters Barbara “Bobbi” Morse, aka Mockingbird, and Lance Hunter.
The drama had been developed quietly last season by S.H.I.E.L.D. executive producer Jeffrey Bell and co-executive producer Paul Zbyszewski. ABC put the breaks on the project in early May, just before the upfronts.
I hear the drama has since been redeveloped with a new direction for the two characters that all parties are excited about. It is unclear whether the project will be considered a S.H.I.E.L.D. spinoff or not but I hear it will film a standalone pilot, much like the CW did with the Arrow offshoot The Flash. I hear that will likely not happen right away, and the new pilot, first reported by Variety, may shoot during the regular pilot season in early 2016.
S.H.I.E.L.D. fans had been divided by the idea for a Mockingbird-Lance spinoff, and there had been some backlash to the idea of taking some of the strongest new characters on S.H.I.E.L.D. away from the mothership series.
Marvel’s Most Wanted is looking to join ABC/Marvel’s S.H.I.E.L.D., which is returning for a third season, and Agent Carter, which again will bridged S.H.I.E.L.D.’s half-seasons with its second installment.
ABC and Marvel also are secretly working on a potential series with John Ridley.