For those who have been waiting for Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. to have more than just a tangential link to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, I have some very good news. According to Entertainment Weekly, the episode that is set to air on November 19th - titled "The Well" - will have a direct link to the upcoming Thor: The Dark World, which will be in theaters here in the United States 11 days before the episode premieres.
The magazine has a full official description of the episode, which reads as follows:
“In the aftermath of the events chronicled in the feature film Marvel’s Thor: The Dark World, Coulson and the Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. pick up the pieces–one of which threatens to destroy a member of the team.”
One of the agents being in life threatening peril is serious news for anyone who is even vaguely aware of Joss Whedon's work. Much like how the writer/director "killed off" Agent Coulson in The Avengers, Whedon has a long history of killing off characters that fans are really loving and connecting with - breaking hearts in the process. But which team member will it be? And will they actually bite the bullet in the episode?
In addition to the episode logline, EW has also posted the full list of guest stars in the episode, and it's worth noting that none of them actually appear in Thor: The Dark World. Instead, the list includes "Peter MacNicol as Professor Elliot Randolph, Michael Graziadei as Jakob Nystrom, Erin Way as Petra Larsen, Toby Wilson as Neils, Alex Neustaedter as Maynard and Sylvia Brindis as Elena.” That said, it's entirely possible that there will be some extra special guest stars that they are keeping a secret for now. Then again they didn't exactly do a good job of the cameo in the second episode...
"The Well" won't be the next episode that Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. airs. Next Tuesday, November 5th, they will be airing a new adventure called "FZZT" and the week after that will be one called "The Hub" (perhaps the first half of a two-parter?). You can watch an extended clip from the beginning of the next episode below, which involves a killer who leaves his victims mysteriously floating in the air:
How will "The Well" connect to Thor: The Dark World? You'll just have to see the episode next weekend and then wait to find out.
