Whedon's 'Agents of SHIELD' Won't Be 'The Avengers 1.5'

Joss Whedon fans who hoped that the popular writer/director/producer would take total control of "Marvel's Agents of SHIELD" might have been disappointed by Whedon's comments at the Television Critics Association press tour on Sunday. Whedon is a busy man, and "SHIELD" is going to be a team effort with significant input from other creative people.

"As much as an exec producer can who is also making a movie," Whedon said when asked how much involvement he'll have with the series. "I got the best writers and actors I could so I could do this, and that's the best way to run a show.

The "SHIELD" TCA panel, which consisted of Whedon and various members of the show's creative team and cast, also seemed to be trying to put some distance between "SHIELD" and "The Avengers." According to The Hollywood Reporter, there were qualified answers to questions about how closely the TV series will tie itself to the upcoming "Thor" and "Captain America" movies ("As much as we can allow…but it's not the reason for the show") and how integrated the show will be with the rest of the Marvel universe ("I don't think we'll make references for the sake of making them").

Reading between the lines, it sounds as if "SHIELD" is not going to be just another branch of the wildly successful "Avengers" franchise. It's more likely to be a case-of-the-week crime procedural involving agents in dark suits, with occasional links to the bigger Marvel stories. That's a good thing for the overall creative flexibility of the series, but it's probably going to be a let-down for fans who were hoping for a small-screen dose of "The Avengers" or, more unrealistically, regular appearances by Tony Stark.