The launch of Marvel’s Disney+ shows this year marked the beginning of a new era for the studio — one in which its TV shows and films were truly connected for the first time. That was a refreshing change of pace coming off years of Marvel making TV shows set within the MCU at networks and streamers like ABC, Hulu, and Netflix only to largely ignore the events and characters of those shows.
Now, a new update suggests that Marvel’s pre-Disney+ TV shows — including Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. and Agent Carter — have been erased from the MCU canon altogether.
The News — A recent Reddit post from u/wandavisionbaby notes that Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., Agent Carter, Inhumans, and Runaways have all been added to the “Marvel Legacy Movies and Series” section of Disney+ — indicating these Marvel shows don’t take place within the MCU.
The change was only made in a few international territories, including Brazil, while the U.S. version of Disney+ still has Agent Carter, Inhumans, and Runaways included in its “Marvel Live Action Series and Specials” section along with The Falcon and the Winter Soldier and WandaVision. Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. is, however, not available yet on Disney+ in the U.S., which means Marvel may be waiting until the ABC series is added to the streaming service before officially moving all of the shows into the “Marvel Legacy” section.
Erased From History — Since Marvel and Disney have yet to officially confirm if shows like S.H.I.E.L.D., Carter, Inhumans, or Runaways are still considered canon within the MCU, we can’t say for certain whether they are or not. However, the series’ transition into the “Marvel Legacy” section of Disney+ in non-U.S. regions does seem like yet another sign that Marvel is planning on forgetting about them altogether.
Fans have been speculating about that very possibility for months now as well. WandaVision’s use of a new version of The Darkhold just brought new attention to the rumors that Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. and Runaways (which featured an alternate iteration of the magical book) were being erased from MCU canon by Marvel. Meanwhile, the recent rumors that Marvel may be casting a new actress to play Daisy Johnson a.k.a. Quake — the character Chloe Bennet played in Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. — have only added further fuel to those theories.
There are also the ongoing rumors that Marvel may be bringing back actors from its Netflix series — specifically Charlie Cox, Krysten Ritter, and Jon Bernthal — to reprise their Marvel roles in future MCU titles without referencing the Netflix shows in any way. If those rumors turn out to be true, then Marvel’s view of all of its pre-Disney+ shows seems pretty clear.
The Inverse Analysis — Marvel continues to be unnecessarily secretive about the canonical status of its ABC, Hulu, and Netflix shows.
However, it’s looking increasingly likely that the studio may have already chosen to retcon the events and characters of those shows into an alternate universe outside of the prime MCU reality. At least, that’s what this Disney+ update suggests.
