Fall 2013 will see the Marvel Universe not only gracing the big screen (Thor: The Dark World) but also the small screen, thanks to ABC's upcoming premiere of the Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. TV series. The cinematic respite won't last long: after Thor 2 this fall we will catch up again with Captain America in Captain America: The Winter Soldier come spring 2014.

Today we're rounding up Marvel live-action news on both the S.H.I.E.L.D. and Captain America 2 fronts; we have a new featurette for the former (see above) and new hints from Winter Soldier star Scarlett Johansson on the relationship Black Widow and Captain America will form in the next installment of that franchise.

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The Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.

There has already been plenty of setup for the Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. pilot that was written and directed by Avengers architect, Joss Whedon. This latest featurette covers a lot of the same ground - the show's balance of action and humor, the return of Agent Coulson, the basic premise of normal people trying to find their place in a superhero world - but it goes one step further, introducing us to Coulson's new team.

Joss Whedon Talks Agents of SHIELD and Avengers

We meet chip-on-shoulder black ops agent Grant Ward (Brett Dalton); "retired from the field" legend Melinda May (Ming-Na Wen); Wikileaks-style blog-hound Skye (Chole Bennet); scientist geek team Leo (Iain De Caestecker) and Jemma (Elzabeth Henstridge); and we all already know Agent Coulson (just not HOW he has been resurrected after his death in Avengers). There seems to be a certain amount of mystery surrounding several of the team members (not just Coulson), which could be seeds for some pretty good character drama that unfolds over the course of the season.

With hints that Extremis could be involved in tying the show to the Marvel Movies, and a cast and approach that seems more solid that advertisements would have you believe, we're eager to see how Marvel's big TV experiment plays out.

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Black Widow in Winter Soldier

Coming Soon spoke to Scarlett Johansson during the press junket for her new film Don Jon, and asked about previous speculation that Widow and Captain America (Chris Evans) could be getting romantic in Winter Soldier. SIDE NOTE: This was always a specious line of reasoning, as any Captain America comic book fan knows that Widow's heart has ties to the titular Winter Soldier, NOT Steve Rogers.

Scarlett Johansson Talks Black Widwo in Captain America The Winter Soldier

To her credit, Johansson tried to course-correct the thought process without dropping major spoilers about the Winter Soldier story arc:

The pairing is strange on paper, but you'll understand the pairing when you see "Cap 2" and of course Marvel's really good at noticing those connections too! They will continue to build on the different relationships that audiences connect to...

Of course in "Avengers" particularly you start to see the relationships forming between these characters, and all of us have very specific relationships with one another. Of course we all know how we feel about one another. We work and all use each other in different ways. We all have very specific opinions about one another. I think that Joss laid the groundwork for a lot of interesting connections. That's why the audiences are so intrigued by that film because they love to see how these characters react to each other that come from completely different universes.

In case that vague account still isn't clear: The Winter Soldier is a character who has direct ties to the pasts of both Cap and Widow - meaning that their relationship in the film will be a bond formed over their shared connection to the character, and how his status as a globe-trotting master assassin effects them both, emotionally.

Captain America Winter Soldier - Final Battle Concept Art

Director Joe Russo explained it like this when we talked to him:

“For Black Widow, it’s a very strong relationship with the two of them in this film. Chris and Scarlett really play off eachother very well in the film; they are paired up, it’s definitely a two-hander. What we loved about the relationship is Cap has a very strong moral code, she does not; he operates in the truth, she doesn’t. So that creates conflict between the two characters, it creates an interesting ‘Odd Couple’ pairing and for us, the journey that they go on together is the heart of the movie.”

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Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. premieres on Tuesday, September 24th @ 8pm/7c on ABC.

Captain America: The Winter Soldier will be in theaters on April 4th, 2014.

Source: Marvel & Coming Soon