Showrunners tell the future – and the past – of ‘Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.’ season 2 

Showrunners tell the future – and the past – of ‘Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.’ season 2

season 2 draws closer, executive producers Maurissa Tancharoen, Jed Whedon, Jeph Loeb, and Jeff Bell discuss days gone by – and what’s coming next.

Speaking to Hypable at San Diego Comic-Con, the executive producers of

were teasingly coy about the drama looming in their sophomore season. But one thing was crystal clear: Things have changed among Coulson and his crew.

Showrunners Marussa Tancharoen and Jed Whedon agreed that the “paradigm” has shifted in

season 2. “They’re true underdogs, and they weren’t last year,” Tancharoen says, adding that the newly-dubbed Director Coulson will be a specific focus of this shift.

“The new position as director, that comes with a whole new set of responsibilities and new decisions that he may have to make,” she says. In turn, those decisions “effect our characters and the dynamics between them, if they don’t agree with some of the decisions he’s making.”

Whedon notes that their approach to writing

season 2 had shifted slightly in relation to the larger Marvel Cinematic Universe.

“We had some tonnage at the beginning of last year,” Whedon says, referring to the now-infamous events of

, the burdens of introducing brand-new characters into the Marvel universe, and the inborn mystery of Coulson’s survival.

“A lot of that legwork has been done,” Whedon says. “We can come in with a lot more urgency and momentum and sort of hit the ground running in a way we couldn’t last year.”

Having the first season under their belts, Tancharoen and Whedon are confident about how their show will fit into the big-screen story.

“We read the scripts ahead of time, so we know what they’re doing and planning,” Whedon says. “But,” he jokes, “We’re actually in a good position now,… there’s not a movie coming out this year that destroys S.H.I.E.L.D.!”

The destruction of S.H.I.E.L.D. has opened unexpected creative doors for the writing staff. “We get to rebuild S.H.I.E.L.D. how we want,” Whedon notes. “So in a way, it’s the first time we sort of have our own little universe to build that’s not just in the Cinematic Universe they’ve already created.”

began, Coulson and his time are now “true underdogs.” Whedon promises that seeing the team succeed will be “a rewarding experience” – but new powers will come with new consequences.

Last year, Whedon admits, Coulson “had a lot of secrets being kept from him. but now he has a Toolbox he was given from Fury, he’s in a position to hold some of those secrets – and he can be the one who keeps them from other people.”

Executive producer Jeff Bell agrees that changes are on the horizon. Now, “Coulson has a directive, people are scattered, FitzSimmons – we don’t know what really happened with them, what happened to Ward,” he says.

“All these relationships are fractured and frayed, so it seems like a good place to start telling the story for season 2.”

And executive producer Jeph Loeb adds that fans can look forward to savoring further surprises in

season 2. “If… one of the things we can do is continue to be the show in which people say, I didn’t see that coming,’” he says, “Then we’ve really succeeded.”

season 2 will premiere on September 23, 2014 at 9:00 p.m. on ABC.

What changes do you predict in ‘Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.’ season 2?

I really hope Fitz pulls through quickly. That was the most terrifying thing about the season 1 finale. And I want Ward to stay locked up forever.

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