Iain De Caestecker & Elizabeth Henstridge
Photo Credits: Michael Bulbenko & Kevin Parry for Paley Center for Media
On “Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.,” Fitz (Iain De Caestecker) and Simmons (Elizabeth Henstridge) are the masters of all things science. Hey, James Bond only has one Q. S.H.I.E.L.D. has two.
Appropriately enough, Iain and Elizabeth had a joint interview with us as they traveled down the red carpet.
CraveOnline: What was your favorite moment this season?
Elizabeth Henstridge: I think it’s still in the second episode when we all didn’t really know each other and were coming together at the end and drinking beer and watching the 084 go up like a firework.
Iain De Caestecker: That was your favorite?
Elizabeth Henstridge: Yeah, I think so. Basically, any time that we drink beer.
Are Fitz and Simmons ever going to get their fishtank?
Iain De Caestecker: That was Coulson who wanted that, wasn’t it?
Elizabeth Henstridge: I think [Coulson] said that. I don’t know. Hopefully.
Iain De Caestecker: I hope so. More importantly, we need a monkey at some point.
Elizabeth Henstridge: Yeah.
What direction do you want to see your characters go in, especially if you get a second season?
Iain De Caestecker: You know, I tend not to look way too far ahead just in terms of where we are right now. When we first started, Fitz and Simmons came from quite a sheltered background in their career and they’ve seen everything second hand through a computer screen. They’ve faced a lot of things during the first season. It’s been quite interesting to see the road they’ve gone on. They came out the other side of a lot of situations.
Right now, we’re kind of in the middle of that, so it’s hard to think too far ahead. We kind of find out along with the viewers. We get the scripts out from week to week and we get excited by how it’s going. We get a lot of say in what we do as well, but we can’t plan too far ahead.
Are going to see more of Fitz and Simmons as S.H.I.E.L.D. celebrities among the scientists within the agency?
Elizabeth Henstridge: I hope so! That was fun to film! I think they’ve gone beyond that, in a way. When we saw them in the episode [“Seeds”], they loved the attention and that’s kind of where they get their bravado from in a way. But now, so much has happened that they see themselves as part of something bigger than just being well known for being clever.
Iain, Fitz almost had an action hero moment at the end of the sixth episode, “F.Z.Z.T.” when he was getting ready to jump out of the Bus to save Simmons. Do you regret that Ward kind of stole Fitz’s thunder in that scene?
Iain De Caestecker: I think that Fitz certainly regrets it. But I think it was an interesting thing to happen for the character. And I think [Fitz] was definitely willing to do it, but [laughs] I’m not too sure he’d be able to do the same thing that Ward did. I think if he had jumped out of the plane [instead of Ward], it would have been a bit of a disaster. [laughs]
is there anything you can tease about the rest of the season?
Elizabeth Henstridge: It’s going to be huge. From this point on, everything gets turned on its head and we question everything. Things that have been absolutes start to break down and it’s just so fast from this point on.
Iain De Caestecker: There’s a lot of surprises. BIG surprises.
Jeph Loeb
Photo Credit: Kevin Parry for Paley Center for Media
Jeph Loeb is well known in the comic book industry as a prolific writer. But these days, he’s Marvel’s President of TV. Most of Loeb’s Marvel TV successes have come in animation, but the recent blockbuster deal with Netflix may change everything. Beginning in 2015, “Daredevil,” “Jessica Jones,” “Luke Cage” and “Iron Fist” are getting their own original series on Netflix.
When Loeb stopped by on the red carpet, we grilled him about whether the new Netflix series would eventually tie into “Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.” down the road.
CraveOnline: So Jeph, the world of Marvel is going to be very crowded on TV when the Netflix series get started.
Jeph Loeb: Yes, indeed.
Is there going to be any interaction between “Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.” and the four shows on Netflix?
Jeph Loeb: Well, it’s all one universe. We certainly want to be able to establish everything that’s going on. So I wouldn’t say right at the beginning. But like I said, nothing’s impossible. We’ll see what happens.
Getting that deal with Netflix was huge, How did that come about?
Jeph Loeb: We have an excellent relationship with [Netflix]. We told them a terrific story and what we wanted to do. They’re amazing characters and it was just an opportunity that they wanted to do and we wanted to do it with them. So, when we told them the story that was what it is.
That’s what it is at Marvel. It always begins with a story. Once they heard about where we were going and who those characters were and what was going to happen, that was really the exciting part about it.
It’s good to see Jessica Jones get new life out of that deal. But what’s happening with Mockingbird and Cloak & Dagger? They were in development at ABC Family for a long time.
Jeph Loeb: I think we’ll know more about what happens to those characters. I mean, I can’t talk about it right now, but what’s great about Marvel is that we’re in it for the long game. There’s going to be terrific characters that can appear almost anywhere.
And so, the best part about it is that starting on April 1st, come back to Marvel. Come back to “Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.” come back to ABC and you’ll get a brand new episode; which is appropriately called “The End of The Beginning.” On April 4, Captain America: The Winter Soldier opens in theaters. And then we’re back again on April 8 and we’re going seven [episodes] in a row all the way to the end [of the season]. And it is just one, great huge explosion, one after another with great character stuff and great actors and great writing. That’s really the thing that we want to be focusing on.
Is “Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.” going to get a direct tie-in episode of Captain America: The Winter Soldier?
Jeph Loeb: The best way for me to say it is that this is the Marvel Universe. We have been telling, from the very beginning, the story of Agent Coulson which started in Marvel’s The Avengers. So, it does make sense that if we’re doing something in the Marvel universe, it’s going to have an impact of what’s going on. It doesn’t matter where you are. It doesn’t matter if we’re in animation or in publishing… but particularly if you’re on Marvel’s “Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D..”
