The discussion over whether or not the heroes of Marvel’s TV and movie universes would ever meet has been going on pretty much since Agents of SHIELD began. Marvel’s recent answers have been… well, pretty disheartening. But perhaps all hope is not quite lost.
For the past few months, Marvel have been rather obvious in their belief that the films and TV shows are equal only in the fact they ostensibly both occupy the same shared universe. Much to the chagrin of fans (and even Marvel’s actors) who’d love to see Daisy Johnson or Jessica Jones shoulder-to-shoulder with Black Widow and Captain Marvel, they have repeatedly put down the idea of TV and Netflix characters appearing in the Infinity War duology, citing logistical problems and not wanting audiences to be beholden to watching hours of TV to validate a brief movie cameo. They might of course be just downplaying expectations so fans can be surprised if these characters do eventually show up in a movie, but from the outside looking in it does feel like Marvel is essentially trying to let fans down now so they’re less disappointed closer to the movie’s release.
But not everybody at Marvel Studios are content with letting the hope of a truly shared universe die: The Russo brothers, Infinity War‘s directorial team, recently offered a potential lifeline to fans still hoping for the fabled movie/TV crossover. Speaking to the Toronto Sun for the home release of Captain America: Civil War, the duo said that when it comes to Infinity War‘s bumper cast of characters, everyone is being considered:
And while there are logistical hurdles to getting some of Marvel’s TV heroes to cross over into film, the Russos haven’t ruled out the possibility of Netflix super-types like Daredevil or Jessica Jones coming to the aid of Earth’s Mightiest Heroes.
“We do consider everyone,” said Anthony Russo. “We don’t want to get too specific about what’s going to happen with these movies. We want these movies to be a surprise for audiences.”
It’s not much. In fact, it’s barely anything. But even then, it’s the most optimistic comment regarding the chances of Jessica, Luke, Danny, Matt and the SHIELD crew standing alongside the Guardians of the Galaxy and Avengers on the big screen we’ve seen in a long time.