Working at S.H.I.E.L.D. looks like a rough job to begin with, but being the director of the MCU’s superhero-babysitting-squad is the worst gig of all. S.H.I.E.L.D has been around in the Marvel Cinematic Universe since the first Iron Man, and it’s been a dysfunctional mess ever since. The organization was in constant turmoil until being destroyed from the inside in Captain America: The Winter Soldier. While the new season of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. hints that S.H.I.E.L.D.’s future is looking up, the organization’s new director is going to have a hell of a time in front of him.
For people who haven’t been watching ABC’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., the last time they heard of the agency was likely back in 2014. Winter Soldier revealed that S.H.I.E.L.D. was secretly part of the evil organization called Hydra the entire time. The organization was disbanded, the agents went rogue, and agent Phil Coulson — who didn’t die in The Avengers — became the secret chief of S.H.I.E.L.D.
Since then, Coulson and his team were left to rebuild the agency while dealing with street-level superhero disasters. Luckily, thanks to the Sokovia Accords from this year’s Captain America: Civil War, S.H.I.E.L.D. has been reinstated as an official government agency. The problem? Coulson is still registered as having been killed in action, and can’t unofficially be the boss of an official government organization.
This is where Jason O’Mara comes in.
Coulson and the new SHIELD director
O’Mara’s role is officially listed as “New Director” on his IMDB page. He will be making his first official appearance on the show in the new season’s second episode. The synopsis hints that this will be the first official meeting between Coulson and the new director. While the team will be busy handling the Ghost Rider situation, Coulson could become engaged in a little political theater trying to figure out whether or not the new director can be trusted. However, given the messy status of S.H.I.E.L.D. as an organization, the new director might not be keen on giving the agents too much freedom.
Season 4 of Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. premieres September 20 at its new time at 10 p.m. EST.
