User blog:Porterfield/Joss Whedon Will Co-Write S.H.I.E.L.D. Pilot for ABC

We have been hearing rumors about a Joss Whedon Avengers television spinoff for quite some time now, with little to no substantial information coming through.

Well, last night it was finally announced that ABC has bought the rights to the pilot, and the big news is that the television series will be about S.H.I.E.L.D..

Disappointed? Would you really want a show on ABC called "The Avengers" with a cast that doesn't include Robert Downey, Jr.? Yea... and there's no point in even questioning this decision when we can just put our trust in Joss Whedon, sit back, and wait for the show to air. Clearly he knows what he's doing on the small screen (Firefly anyone?). He's writing the pilot with his brother Jed and Jed's wife Maurissa Tancharoen (all of whom worked on "Dr. Horrible"), and if it goes into production, that writing team will also produce the show along with Jeffrey Bell and Jeph Loeb of Marvel Television.

That's really all we know for now, which means we have a million questions! I'm providing some big ones below, but feel free to ask, answer, and/or discuss in the comments section below.

Questions About This Show:

 * Will Samuel L. Jackson be on the show? Would he be a regular?
 * Most spinoff series are terrible, with a shining exception being the Angel spinoff of Buffy, which was a Joss Whedon project. Can Whedon repeat the success?
 * Will Agent Phil Coulson be brought back from the dead and made into the main character? Actor Clark Gregg hasn't ruled it out!
 * Don't deny that Hollywood is over-saturated with superheroes already. Marvel is throwing it on thick with Iron Man 3, Thor 2, The Wolverine, Captain America 2, Guardians of the Galaxy, and now this television pilot. I'm terrified to ask, but is it all too much?
 * Is Joss Whedon already a skeptic of the S.H.I.E.L.D. organization? Did you see the delted scene/alternate opening for The Avengers?
 * Will big names like Thor, Iron Man, and The Hulk make cameo appearances in this show, or will it be used as a platform to introduce lesser-known Marvel characters? (Put your character suggestions in the comments section!)