One of the most satisfying things about "living" in the Marvel Cinematic Universe all year is how you, as an audience member, can sometimes seamlessly pass between mediums even if they come out months apart. Will Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Season 3 connect to Ant-Man ? The summer movie had several passing references to the world of the ABC series, and that trend could continue when the show returns Tuesday night.
If you remember from the film, the opening scene involved Hank Pym quitting his job at S.H.I.E.L.D. and going to start his own company. However, Paul Rudd's character barely encountered any other Avengers, and was operating outside of S.H.I.E.L.D. entirely. Even the Hydra agents that they encountered were pretty quickly disposed of during the film's climax. That's actually the strongest connection, since the Hydra that we saw in that film was under Ward's leadership, but it's a dead end in terms of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Season 3. Plus, the series is too wrapped up in the Inhuman storyline for now. We're more likely to see the television series set up the events of Captain America: Civil War — which Scott Lang is involved in, so we can all win.
Even if it's just an Easter Egg, I'm sure the show will reference the events of the film in some way. We might hear about something coming out of Pym Tech. We might hear about how Ward lost some men trying to purchase the Yellowjacket program and their new mission statement. We might here Scott Lang's name in conjunction with the importance of separating superheroes who have powers from those who have technology.
Personally, I would love to see more of the reporter character who appeared at the end of the film and was played by Anna Akana. She knows a lot about powered individuals, including Spider-Man. Every show about superheroes needs their media connection and it would be a great little cameo. Obviously, my first choice would be Luis, but I'm sure Michael Peña is too busy to make a guest star appearance.
We'd be more likely to see a reference to, or the actual characters of, Hank and Janet Pym in Agent Carter Season 2 than Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Hank and Peggy were obviously colleagues back in the day, and I'm dying to know what her relationship with his wife and Hope's mother was like. However, from the ways Wasp’s face was obscured in Ant-Man, it seems that she hasn’t been cast in the MCU yet. It's likely that she's going to come out of her subatomic state without having aged, so if this is going to be a big reveal in Ant-Man 2, it's unlikely that they will cast the role for something as relatively small (pun absolutely intended) as Agent Carter. Still, if you're ant-sing (not sorry) for a reference, the midseason spinoff may be your best bet.
Images: Kelsey McNeal/ABC; Giphy
