Despite the old age and amnesiac condition of character Peggy Carter in the present timeline of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Hayley Atwell is keeping herself busy with Marvel Studios. After playing a major role in the origin story of Steve Rogers in the '40s set Captain America: The First Avenger, Atwell's highly trained Peggy Carter became a quick fan-fave thanks to the self-titled Marvel One-Shot Agent Carter, a short film which helped launch her own TV series on ABC to play alongside Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D..

As the Marvel Cinematic Universe continues to expand outward, into space and mysticism, it's still keeping one foot in the past. Agent Carter will follow Atwell's Peggy after the events of The First Avenger where Peggy joins Howard Stark (Dominic Cooper), father of Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.), in creating the first version of the S.H.I.E.L.D. organization.

The first season of Agent Carter will be a miniseries of sorts, eight episodes long, and will bridge the gap during the season break of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. According to star Hayley Atwell though, who will be appearing at Comic-Con alongside cast mates, she'll also be appearing in writer and director Joss Whedon's The Avengers: Age of Ultron.

"We went out drinking one night and he was like, 'You know, it would be great to write something for you. And I was like , 'Yes, Joss, it would! It would be amazing!'"

Joss Whedon originally included a scene in the first Avengers where Rogers (Chris Evans) went to meet an older Peggy but it never made the final cut. Since that scene was re-envisioned by directors Anthony and Joe Russo for Captain America: The Winter Soldier earlier this year, we don't expect a repeat.

Agent Carter Logo (High-Res)

Warning: Potential Plot Spoilers Ahead From Set Photos

There are three ways we can think of that could explain an appearance by Peggy. There's the least interesting option of Rogers simply having memories or a dream of Peggy, his first true love. There's the flashback scenario where Peggy could appear in a piece of story that ties into the film; that would help explain the WWII set photos from back in April which revealed that there are scenes (reportedly including Paul Bettany who plays The Vision in The Avengers sequel) in the past. Lastly, it could be something to do with Scarlet Witch getting inside the head of the team - something Joss Whedon explained the character could do.

It's important for Marvel Studios to do what they can help promote Agent Carter since the show is launching in January and must play some sort of role in tying into the MCU. We don't know yet what that role is but we wouldn't be surprised if it ties into certain plot threads of Agents of SHIELD and potentially, some of the upcoming unannounced Phase 3 movies. One clear benefit of telling more stories from the '40s is seeing some familiar faces from the Captain America movies return - something Agent Carter producers Tara Butters and Michele Fazekas said we can "hopefully see."

Are you happy to see Marvel finding a way to keep the past relevant to the present? We'll find out more in the coming days when Agent Carter is showcased at Comic-Con.

_____________________________________________

More: Marvel Announces Another 5 Release Dates

_____________________________________________

Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. season 2 will get underway on ABC later this year @9PM ET on Tuesdays, and Agent Carter will premiere on ABC in January 2015.

Guardians of the Galaxy opens August 1, 2014The Avengers: Age of Ultron on May 1, 2015, Ant-Man on July 17, 2015, Captain America 3 on May 6 2016, and unannounced films for July 8 2016 and May 5 2017.

Follow Rob on Twitter @rob_keyes for your Marvel movie and TV news!

Source: Marvel

Sources: EW (via CBM), SHH