Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s Ming-Na Wen (Melinda May) has confirmed that the show's 5th season is poised to bring back the Kree in a big way. After taking some time to find its footing, one of the first arcs in Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. to really grab audiences attention (besides Captain America: The Winter Soldier's Hydra crossover and the fall of S.H.I.E.L.D.) was the revelation that the mysterious GH-325 substance tied to Coulson's resurrection was, in fact, the blood of a blue alien, later revealed to be a Kree soldier captured by S.H.I.E.L.D.
The show saw some brief crossover with the notorious alien species, possibly better known as the species of Guardians of the Galaxy villain, Ronan the Accuser, but the real impact of the first Kree arc was to serve as a lead-in to the introduction of Inhumans to the MCU. While Skye's transformation into Daisy Johnson AKA Quake and other Inhumans have been a major focus in the seasons since, it has slowly become less of a focus to make way for the Inhumans to have their show, instead bringing in the Darkhold, LMD's, The Framework, and Ghost Rider in its crazy last season. But with the reveal that Coulson is now on some sort of space station, it appears Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. will once again be leaning into the cosmic side and bringing back the Kree while they're at it.
Marvel Television's Jeph Loeb and Melinda May actress Ming-Na Wen spoke with Screen Rant during New York Comic Con where they revealed that season 5 would most definitely be seeing a resurgence of the blue-skinned aliens:
“We have the Kree to deal with [in Season 5]. We can actually mention that and how strong they are and how blue they are. That’s one element. And then we also have aliens.”
While their return to the show has already been rumored, this most recent is the first official confirmation that we can indeed expect them to be a component of the 5th season. The cliffhanger reveal at the end of the last season was definitely confirmation of a more space-oriented 5th season, with some speculating that the show could finally be teasing the introduction of S.W.O.R.D.to the MCU. While confirmation of the Kree and the fact that S.W.O.R.D. in Marvel comics was co-created by Joss Whedon, whose brother Jed is the showrunner, definitely adds fuel to that speculation, it has yet to be seen if the show will go beyond a tease, as going full-blown cosmic and leaving Earth (for long) may be too big a departure for a show named after a terrestrial organization.
With the Agents of S.H.I.L.D. New York Comic Con panel coming this afternoon, a number of additional confirmations are likely just around the corner, telling us exactly what to expect from season 5. The show has steadily found a more serious tone and progressively later time slot, now landing on Friday nights, taking over for Inhumans after the newcomer's 8 episode run concludes. With recent revelations that Disney actually intervened to prevent the series' cancellation shows that while the show might not be getting the ratings necessary for most shows to stay on the air (despite strong approval from those that actually tune in), the higher-ups may have plans for bigger things. While those bigger things likely won't come in the form of larger MCU crossover, maybe this just means that Marvel's launching of more TV spin-offs like Inhumans and bringing the Kree in for AoS season 5 is all part of a larger payoff. Either way, we're bound to learn more soon.