PaleyFest NYC 2014 ended with a panel discussion featuring Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. executive producer Jeph Loeb and cast members Clark Gregg, Chloe Bennet and Ming-Na Wen — who portray team leader Agent Phil Coulson, Skye (the computer hacker-turned agent) and Agent Melinda May (Coulson’s tough-as-nails right hand), respectively.
Though the panel was the smallest group of the week-long event, which kicked off Oct. 11 with stars of The Walking Dead, the guests made the most out of their appearance.
They pushed for more time when they were told to wrap things up, happily signed autographs and took photos with attending fans before and after the panel, which was moderated by Matt Mitovich, editor-at-large of TVLine.com, and it seemed that no topic was off-limits or left out.
And the cast's chemistry — apparently as spectacular off-screen as it is on — made for a playful, light-hearted and laugh-filled event.
Below are some highlights of the panel discussion.
Mitovich commented early in the panel on how crazy the collaboration process must have been for the S.H.I.E.L.D./Captain America: The Winter Soldier tie-in episode, entitled "Turn, Turn, Turn" — which marked a drastic improvement in critic and fan reception of the show, as it boosted the pace, intensity and frequency of action and shifted focus towards what Marvel devotees wanted.
In response, Wen said that they would always see Loeb talking on some device, at which Loeb pulled multiple phones out of his pocket.
"We have regular conversations that go on daily,' said Loeb, “But when there’s a big picture item like Winter Soldier, that is something we had to talk about before we got anywhere. If you go back and look at the pilot and you look back at the first scene where Ward is talking to Coulson...there's a whole bunch of dialogue that is there... we're telling you he's Hydra, please, please fall in love with this guy because he's going to break your heart..."
About that...
How did the cast members take the news?
Chloe Bennet’s reaction: “What a motherf***! I kissed him!"
Ming-Na Wen’s response, to the crowd’s delight: “Well I f*** him!”
Loeb added that Iain De Caestecker, who plays Leo Fitz, took it the hardest because he has a "bro-mance" with Brett Dalton, the actor who plays Ward. Loeb said Caestecker refused to believe it—until Ward dumped Fitz-Simmons into the ocean in a box.
So, Ward betrayed S.H.I.E.L.D.
Will he ever be freed from jail and even maybe rekindle his romance with Skye?
Wen joked: "Over my dead body."
Loeb said: "One of the great parts about the show is that we don't do take-backs. Things that happened, happened, so whether or not Ward is redeemable is something that you will come to see. But... when you have a monster in your basement, that's not a good thing...get out of your house." Is this a hint?
The actors also discussed their reaction to Fitz's speech impairment from what Ward did to him.
"I was just glad he wasn't dead," said Bennet. "Being in scenes with Fitz is really, really difficult because he just brings it so much..."
"It's so fun to watch him embrace this," Gregg interjected. "It's the hardest thing in the world to play someone who can't put words together because your words are what you have to communicate."
Now about the casting: Early in the panel, Wen, a self-proclaimed geek and fan of Joss Whedon, and Bennet discussed their audition experience.
"I was so nervous that I could not memorize two pages of dialogue to save my life," said Wen. "The words would not stick because all I was worried about was how much I wanted this part and I wasn't focusing on just the work, but Joss and [executive producers] Maurissa [Tanchareon], Jeff Bell and Jed [Whedon], they were so wonderful and warm in the audition room and made me feel so at ease... literally I walked away from the audition so buzzed and excited and I got the call when I was in my bathroom taking off my makeup and I screamed and my kids thought I had hurt myself really bad."
Bennet said she had to go in six times and found Jeph Loeb and the others to be "scary"—to which Loeb said it was such a process because for the final piece of the puzzle, they had to find people to play Skye and Ward, so "a lot of it was the chemistry between [Bennet] and Brett [Dalton]."
Wen, with whom Bennet shares a mutual friend, helped calm Bennet's nerves by talking to her and offering advice. The pair joked that although Agent May just became Skye's supervising officer on the show, Wen was "really her S.O. from the start."
And what about future guest stars?
Loeb explained that when the show started, all anyone wanted to know was which big-name heroes would appear, but "the success of this season and this tremendous cast and the writers," said Loeb, "is that the questions we get asked now are 'who is Skye's father, what's the deal with the writing on the wall'...It means you're invested in the show."
But Loeb admitted there will, in fact, be more special guest stars in the future, though he made a point of stating that they don't just bring characters and actors on for the sake of it. "It's always in terms of what's best for the show," said Loeb.
Clark Gregg wants Groot, Ming-Na Wen wants Black Widow because she has received so many tweets from people wanting to see the powerful women fight together, and Chloe Bennet wants Chris Evans (Captain America) to come on.
Though the group couldn't give too many exact details about what's in store, some things were hinted at. For example, when Wen said she hasn't had scenes with Ward this season, Gregg said "in the episodes you've seen so far," and Bennet suggested there might be some close-quarter combat action in Skye's future.
But while attendees might not have gotten all the answers they had hoped for, they did get the chance to see how tight-knit the cast is and learn more about a show they love and the people behind it—oh and they were also treated to an advanced screening of the October 21 episode, the fifth of season two, entitled "A Hen in the Wolfhouse." It was perhaps the most exhilarating, plot-twist-filled episode to date, not to mention a certain eagerly-awaited for and anticipated character made her badass debut.
Fans undoubtedly left the Paley Center on Sunday feeling more jazzed up than ever about what’s to come this season of SH.I.E.L.D.
For more from the event, check out the red carpet interviews.
images by Amanda Ostuni