Enver Gjokaj reprises his Agent Carter TV series role as SSR agent Daniel Sousa in the latest image from Marvel's Agents of SHIELD season 7. While it was originally intended to serve as a tie-in to the MCU movies when it launched in 2013, ABC's Agents of SHIELD has since taken on a life of its own, complete with a (mostly) standalone mythology. Even Clark Gregg, who's continued to play SHIELD agent Phil Coulson on the TV show since his "death" in The Avengers, has argued the series only got better as it moved further and further away from the events of the Infinity Saga over the last seven years.
With its seventh and final season, Agents of SHIELD is taking a leaf out of Avengers: Endgame's playbook and sending its heroes on a time-traveling adventure to save the world, albeit from a very different threat than Thanos. The new episodes will pick up where the season 6 finale left things, with the SHIELD team and a newly-created Coulson LMD on a mission to stop the Chronicoms from attacking SHIELD throughout history, beginning in 1930s New York City. It was previously rumored the SHIELD crew would encounter Peggy Carter (Hayley Atwell) on their journey, but that has yet to be confirmed.
However, thanks to a new photo released by EW (see below), we can now confirm the team will cross paths with Atwell's Agent Carter costar Gjokaj as Daniel Sousa at some point in season 7. He might be a little different than viewers remember him too, according to this quote from co-showrunner Jeff Bell:
We get to see him in a different light. [Sousa] had a particular role on [Agent Carter], and so we were able to show another color of him that you hadn't necessarily seen on the show.
Sousa, for those who need a refresher, was a disabled WWII veteran and the rare agent at the SSR who gave Peggy the respect she deserved on the '40s-set Agent Carter. He and Peggy even became romantically involved at the end of season two, but the show was cancelled before it could continue to explore their relationship. (Bear in mind, this was all before Steve Rogers went back in time to lead a happy married life with Peggy in the final moments of Endgame.) Gjokaj previously worked with SHIELD co-creators Jed Whedon and Maurissa Tancharoen on the Joss Whedon sci-fi TV series Dollhouse, so his appearance in season 7 marks a reunion for the trio. As Tancharoen told EW:
Since Jed and I worked with him on Dollhouse, we're very aware of what Enver is capable of. So we were just feeling like we could dive a little deeper with Sousa.
Although EW's report doesn't specify where in time the show's heroes encounter Sousa, it stands to reason the series will pick up after Agent Carter season 2 and/or, at the least, use the crossover as a means of providing some closure for Gjokaj's character. This is technically the second crossover for Agents of SHIELD and Agent Carter after SHIELD season 2 opened with a flashback to Peggy in the '40s, but it's a welcome addition to the show's last hurrah all the same. Much like Endgame allowed the MCU to reflect on its history and even "correct" a few mistakes along the way, the hope is season 7 will not only give a fitting sendoff to Agents of SHIELD, but also the bygone era of Marvel Television it represents. After many years of hard work, Coulson and his team deserve it.
Agents of SHIELD season 7 premieres Wednesday, May 27 at 10pm ET on ABC.
Source: EW