Over the last few years, Marvel has used the winter break of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. as a spot to air new, short seasons of other properties. The benefactor of this break was Agent Carter, but its time came to an end after two seasons. This opened the door for new possibilities, which is what allowed Marvel to announce that Elena 'Yo-Yo' Rodriguez (Natalia Cordova-Buckley) will get her own digital mini-series. The premiere of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.: Slingshot is approaching quickly - as Marvel ventures into uncharted waters in distributing content that exists within the MCU continuity.

While the series is meant to explain Yo-Yo's life in between season 3 and 4, it will also bring in other familiar faces. Every major S.H.I.E.L.D. cast member appears to have a role in the upcoming Slinghshot series, but they will not be the only familiar Marvel names attached to the series. As it turns out, the mini-series was able to get Joe Quesada as its director.

IGN made the announcement with a video interview of Cordova-Buckley, Clark Gregg, and Quesada himself, with each talking about the experience of working together. Quesada's history as an artist shows with his detailed storyboards for the Slingshot digital series - and even though this is not Marvel's most significant property, it says a lot that this is the project that Quesada will use it to make his directorial debut.

Marvel's #AgentsofSHIELD cast talks about being directed by Marvel legend Joe Quesada! pic.twitter.com/Pw4wsHb8zP— IGN (@IGN) December 12, 2016

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Quesada began his time with Marvel as an artist and writer, prior to becoming the company's editor-in-chief in 2000. While he eventually stepped down from that position in 2011, he is still very much involved as the Chief Creative Officer. Perhaps this is just his way of making sure that Yo-Yo is treated and portrayed properly in the leading role, but the video shows that Quesada has a passion for directing. Should Slingshot be well-received by its viewers, it will be interesting to see if he finds time to move up to a full episode of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. or makes the transition to Netflix or one of the other Marvel television series in development.

This could also be the beginning of fellow Marvel creators being given the chance to work on a live-action series if that is desired. Either way, this is a different approach than they could have taken and will hopefully work out for all parties involved. Marvel and ABC could have just as easily chosen S.H.I.E.L.D. showrunners Maurissa Tancharoen and Jed Whedon to serve the same role on Slingshot, but Quesada could bring a unique perspective to the mini-series; making it feel like a quick live-action comic instead of a traditional TV show.

Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.: Slingshot will be available starting December 13, exclusively on ABC.com.

Source: IGN