After playing coy for a few months, even denying the possibility, it was eventually confirmed that Hayley Atwell would return for Captain America: The Winder Soldier, potentially in flashbacks and as an aged character in the modern setting. To help bridge the gap and perhaps explain the origins behind Peggy' niece and current S.H.I.E.L.D. Agent Sharon Carter (Emily VanCamp), Marvel Studios is releasing a short film starring Agent Carter.
We don't know if that means it's focusing on Peggy or both Peggy and Sharon, but Atwell, speaking to The Age in April, confirmed at the time that she was not only returning for The Winter Soldier but had shot a little something extra, a short film that would debut Comic-Con:
"There's been an online campaign for Peggy to be featured. People really liked her. So Marvel have made sure that as part of Comic-Con there will be a little kind of snapshot as to what Peggy's actually really capable of, which was finished here and which was great fun. Hopefully, it will lead to other things."
Atwell also told The Big Issue:
"Fans of the first film really wanted to find out what happened to Peggy afterwards, so Marvel are also making a short film, which is basically ‘What Peggy Did Next’, which will be shown at Comic-Con [the annual international pop culture convention held in San Diego] and be on the DVD extras of the second film.
So as well as doing a bit in the new film, I've got a whole new spin-off short film. It has been great to be back in training with the stunt coordinators, kicking some butt again."
That very same short that will potentially premiere in a few weeks in San Diego seems to be the same bonus content coming with the Iron Man 3 Blu-ray home video release. Disney has yet to unveil the official specs for the North American home video release, rumored for August 27th, but the UK version coming September 9th has a date and leaked details that coincide with rumored details for the U.S./Canada release, which list a Marvel Short film about "Agent Carter."
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Every Marvel Studios home video release after Iron Man 2 has, as Marvel Studios co-president Louis D’Esposito told us last year, used exclusive content to promote home video sales. It's something they've found in their research is more valuable to consumers than the standard extra features. At the time of The Avengers hitting home video, D'Esposito told us they had at least two more shorts planned out and we now know that one of them is another installment in the Marvel One-Shot series all about Agent Carter, which we can safely assume is the very same short Atwell referred to above.
Iron Man 3 Blu-ray special features:
- Marvel Short Film: Agent Carter
- Iron Man 3 Without Mask
- Analyze the scene: The Attack on Air Force One
- Deleted and extended scenes
- An exclusive behind the scenes look at Thor: The Dark World
On the one hand, it's ironic that Iron Man 3, a film which completely dropped any connections to S.H.I.E.L.D. includes a One-Shot which may be all about the secretive organization. On the other hand, it makes sense to add a lead-in to Captain America 2 since that's where moviegoers will learn why S.H.I.E.L.D. was absent in the first place.
Are you going to pick up Iron Man 3 on home video?
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Iron Man 3 is currently in theaters, Thor: The Dark World on November 8, 2013, Captain America: The Winter Soldier on April 4, 2014, Guardians of the Galaxy on August 1, 2014, The Avengers 2 on May 1, 2015, Ant-Man on November 6, 2015, and unannounced films for May 6 2016, July 8 2016 and May 5 2017.
Follow Rob on Twitter @rob_keyes for your Marvel movie news.
Sources: The Age, Zavvi, Flickering Myth, The Big Issue