Last year plans for an Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. spinoff were iffy, then dead, then back on again. Now, with the casting of Delroy Lindo (Blood & Oil) as Dominic Fortune in Marvel’s Most Wanted, it seems like the rumor is going to stick. Insiders are quick to point out that that the show is not actually spinoff but a new show created for Mockingbird, aka Bobbi Morse, and Lance Hunter, played by Adrianne Palicki and Nick Blood on AoS.
During last spring’s upfronts (when networks present their programming plans to advertisers to hype ad space) ABC’s president waffled on whether a spinoff would happen. While commenting that there was a possibility of a Mockingbird show he said that S.H.I.E.L.D. had hit its stride creatively and he didn’t want to mess with that formula. The addition of strong portrayals of Mockingbird and Nick Blood in season 2 of S.H.I.E.L.D. helped balance a fractured main cast and new mythology.
But he also alluded to the solid partnership ABC, which airs both AoS and Agent Carter, enjoys with Marvel and said they intend to push farther. “We have ambitions for Marvel in the future. We love Marvel.”
At the same time he made a comment that AoS brings in the male audience for ABC which, on its face, might seem insulting to fangirls. But since the network’s highest rated shows are certified draws for female viewers – Grey’s Anatomy, Scandal, Modern Family, How to Get Away With Murder – his desire to court a male audience make sense.
Whether Palicki and Hunter will continue their roles on AoS, and how the new show will be introduced (e.g. during a one-off episode) is unknown. Writers Jeffrey Bell (AoS, Alias) and Paul Zbyszewski (AoS, Lost) are attached.
Lindo’s character Dominic Fortune started out as a con-man and petty criminal in the 1920s. He once intervened between a young Steve Rodgers and some bullies, then skipped around as an athlete before a run-in with the mob caused him to take on a costume, a new identity, and the role of a mercenary. He was able to lose years off his age after taking a mucked-up version of a super-soldier serum, and in 2015 he contacted Phil Coulson to help him recover a gambling loss.
Unlike many comic-to-TV (or film) adaptations the story of Marvel’s Most Wanted will be treading new ground, so it’s possible we may see more of these well-formed but lesser-known kinds of characters when (fingers crossed) the new show hits the schedule.