Agents of SHIELD is proving to be the little show that could, with Marvel announcing that the show is getting its own major panel at San Diego Comic Con. It's not just any panel, either, as the event is scheduled to take place at SDCC's Hall H. For reference, Hall H is where a lot of the big players in media have their panels. This year alone will see SHIELD joined by the likes of Star Trek and Netflix. As you can see, it's a huge honor for a Marvel show that has nothing to do with the Avengers these days.
For those not in the know, Agents of SHIELD started off as a very large piece of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. It directly followed the death of agent Phil Coulson at Loki's hand in the first Avengers move. Coulson was brought back to life by Nick Fury, and Samuel L. Jackson even reprised his eyepatch-wearing secret agent for the show.
The show then went on to chronicle the events of Captain America: Winter Soldier where SHIELD fell to Hydra. With each passing season, however, the show has been diverging more from the movies. The newest season has yet to acknowledge the Thanos snap, and has time-travel elements that blur its place in the Marvel timeline.
In this way, it's very similar to the other Marvel shows. The Netflix series' started off firmly placed in the timeline, with Daredevil and Jessica Jones making many references to the events of Avengers and other heroes in general. Unfortunately, Disney or Marvel Studios (or both) got cold feet at some point, and decided it was too much to ask audiences to be current on both Marvel movies and Marvel shows. It's why we never saw Iron Man learn about Coulson's revival, or SHIELD help out with that all-hands-on-deck Endgame battle.
Despite the corporate lack of interest in the show, however, SHIELD has maintained a very dedicated fanbase that keeps it alive. After losing any promise of seeing the movies connect to the show again, after ABC moved the show to a less-desirable time slot, and after season five almost proved to be the show's end, this small-but-dedicated group has chimed in on Twitter and watched regularly.
Now, it seems, their dedication is paying off. Coulson did reclaim his movie status in this year's Captain Marvel. And Agents of SHIELD is getting a Hall H panel at San Diego Comic Con. Fans will want to be there on Thursday, July 18th well before the 3:30 PM starting time. Hall H tends to have some pretty crazy lines. And Agents of SHIELD apparently has a very passionate fanbase.