Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (season 7)

In November 2018, ahead of the release of its sixth season, ABC renewed Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. for a seventh.[20] This early renewal was a surprise following the series' low rated fifth season,[21] but Deadline Hollywood reported that this timing was likely due to the cast's contract negotiations and would help reduce costs by filming the sixth and seventh seasons back-to-back.[20] Marvel Television head Jeph Loeb later revealed that the series' crew had expected the shorter sixth season to be its last and were also surprised by the seventh season renewal. He attributed the decision to ABC watching early work on season six and believing the crew had found "another wave of energy" that they wanted to see continue.[22] Responding to new rumors in March 2019 that the seventh season would be the series' last, Loeb stated, "We're not ending."[23] However, ahead of the series' San Diego Comic-Con panel in July 2019, Loeb announced that the seventh season would be the series' last. He explained that the cast and crew had originally expected the series to end with the fifth season, and had put other plans on hold to continue with the sixth. So, when ABC wanted to renew the series for a seventh season, they agreed to the decision if it could be the final season. Having this knowledge allowed them to build the season specifically to "tie up any threads" and try to create a satisfying conclusion to the story.[24]

Showrunners Jed Whedon, Maurissa Tancharoen, and Jeffrey Bell, as well as the series' writers, chose to use time travel in the final season because visiting earlier time periods was the "only thing left on the list" for them and it allowed them to explore the history of S.H.I.E.L.D. and revisit elements from throughout the series.[25] The season's story picks up from the sixth season's cliffhanger ending, which the writers were able to plan since the seventh season was ordered while they were working on the sixth.[26] It features the team trying to save the world from invasion by the Chronicoms, a recurring subplot in the sixth season. The seventh season begins in 1930s New York, prior to the formation of S.H.I.E.L.D., before exploring more time periods,[27][28] such as the 1950s and 1980s.[11] Unlike earlier seasons, the seventh is not broken up into different "pods" due to its shorter 13 episode run.[29] The writers tried to create more episodes in the season that were "outside of [their] normal form of storytelling", like the third season episode "4,722 Hours".[22]

Phil Coulson is a Life Model Decoy (LMD) in the season after the events at the end of season six, despite star Clark Gregg explaining that the actual Coulson never wanted to be turned into an LMD. Gregg did not want the character to become similar to Data from Star Trek, "the cyber being following [the team] around doing fast math". The writers found a different way to approach the character while still addressing "some of the stuff that classic AI characters have dealt with in the past",[30] such as questioning his feelings and existence.[30][11] Whedon added that the Coulson LMD "feels the same" as the actual Coulson, and he goes through "some virtual soul-searching" according to Gregg.[11] Chloe Bennet said much of the season references back to the first season and the notion that "not all heroes are super". Bennet added that Daisy Johnson is more like her Skye personality in the season now she is "more comfortable with who she is ... what she wants to do is be with the people that she loves and cares about, and save the world."[31]

Natalia Cordova-Buckley said in the season, Elena "Yo-Yo" Rodriguez "sits back and becomes a team member", supporting Director Alphonso "Mack" MacKenzie. Rodriguez has less of a personal struggle in the season than in the past "because she owns who she is and she’s now decided to be part of the force, as a unit and not as an individual".[32] Regarding her relationship with Mack, Cordova-Buckley said the season would show "the true conclusion of their relationship, in terms of it getting really rooted and grounded".[33]

With the season renewal, main cast members Ming-Na Wen, Chloe Bennet, Iain De Caestecker, Elizabeth Henstridge, Henry Simmons, Natalia Cordova-Buckley, and Jeff Ward were confirmed to be returning from previous seasons as Melinda May, Daisy Johnson / Quake, Leo Fitz, Jemma Simmons, Alphonso "Mack" MacKenzie, Elena "Yo-Yo" Rodriguez, and Deke Shaw, respectively.[20] De Caestecker does not appear in the early episodes of the season, as he was working on another project when the season started filming.[34] The renewal did not include series' star Clark Gregg,[20] but Jed Whedon stated in April 2019 that the producers "firmly believe that any season would have to have him in it".[26] The end of the sixth season revealed that a Life Model Decoy of Phil Coulson would appear in the seventh season, with Gregg starring as the new version of his character.[10][27] This was the writers' solution to wanting to bring the character back without reversing the stakes of his death after the fifth season.[27]

In August 2019, Patrick Warburton was revealed to be reprising his role as Rick Stoner for the final season,[18] and Hayley Atwell was reported to be reprising her role as Peggy Carter alongside Enver Gjokaj as agent Daniel Sousa from the series Agent Carter.[35] Atwell later denied that she was involved with the final season,[36] while Gjokaj's casting was confirmed in April 2020. Whedon and Tancharoen had previously worked with Gjokaj on Dollhouse and were excited to explore his character further on S.H.I.E.L.D. Bell said Sousa would be seen in a "different light" in the season. Whedon added that having Sousa allows Coulson, a "fanboy for S.H.I.E.L.D. history", to interact with that history.[14] Gjokaj was initially uncertain how long his commitment for the season would be, saying he was being used "on an episode-by-episode basis".[37] The next month, Patton Oswalt was revealed to be returning for the season,[38] portraying Ernest Hazard Koenig in 1931. He previously played various present-day Koenig siblings.[38][12] The season also introduces the character Wilfred "Freddy" Malick, father of Gideon Malick who appeared in previous seasons. Wilfred is portrayed by Darren Barnet in 1931 and Neal Bledsoe beginning in 1955.[12][13] Cameron Palatas reprises his role as a young Gideon Malick from the third season,[16][17] while Thomas E. Sullivan takes on the role of Nathaniel Malick who was portrayed by Joel Dabney Courtney in the third season.[15][16] Additionally, Christopher James Baker revealed he would return in the season as the Chronicom Malachi.[19]

The season features title cards reflective of the time period visited in each episode. The first two episodes have an "old-style noir" title card reflecting the 1930s setting of the episodes,[39][40] while the third episode features a title card in the style of 1950s "classic sci-fi".[41] The fourth episode, again set in the 1950s, has a film noir style, including being in black and white and featuring an opening sequence that is an homage to Sunset Boulevard's (1950) "iconic" opening. The episode's title card is a "throwback-style credit intro".[42][43] For "A Trout in the Milk", a 1970s-themed opening was used, and was the first opening sequence of the series to include "actual opening credits" along with voiceover introductions. Each actor's name featured clips of their character from past seasons.[44][45]

Production for the season began at the end of February 2019,[46] in Culver City, California.[47] Filming wrapped on July 30, 2019.[48]

After contributing additional music to earlier seasons, Jason Akers is credited as co-composer for the seventh season alongside the series' original composer Bear McCreary.[49][50]

In August 2019, Whedon and Tancharoen indicated that there would be a connection to the MCU in the final season.[28] The various time periods visited in the season allowed the writers to incorporate different Marvel-related Easter eggs.[11] In the third episode, which features Daniel Sousa, references are made to the second season of Agent Carter, including the defeat of Hugh Jones and the Council of Nine.[51] The fifth episode depicts "Project Insight", a major plot point in Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014), as taking place in the 1970s due to the Chronicoms changing history.[52]

The season explains time travel differently to the MCU film Avengers: Endgame (2019). Instead of using the quantum realm to travel between different points in time, the characters follow the Chronicoms through "tides", which are "critical launch windows leading to specific points in time and space". Additionally, Endgame stated that going to the past does not change the future,[53] while the season apparently contradicts this by suggesting that there is a single timestream that can be changed by significant "waves", though small "ripples" will not have a butterfly effect on the future.[54][55][56] Discussing this for Screen Rant, Thomas Bacon noted that the time travel rules in Endgame were changed during production and were not completely consistent within that film, and opined that the series' explanation could help clarify the film's rules. Bacon suggested that the film's explanation that changing the past cannot change the future aligned with the series' idea that small ripples in the timestream would not change the overall flow of time, while the film's statement that removing the Infinity Stones from the timeline would create alternate realities with significant changes aligned with the series' idea that large changes would create a different future.[57]

The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reports a 100% approval rating, with an average score of 7.67/10, based on 6 reviews.[69] Alex McLevy of The A.V. Club felt the season was giving off "strong Legends of Tomorrow vibes", saying, "The rollicking nature of its time-travel adventures, fused with a slightly more absurdist sensibility than past seasons, is giving these episodes the feel of a victory lap, the show loosening up and enjoying its high-concept potential without the worry of delivering the goods to ensure another year."[70]

Through the first four episodes of the season, Ian Sandwell at Digital Spy felt it was "a mistake" to have Fitz and Simmons apart, with it feeling "as though Fitz is missing because it's what the show does – and not because it's a necessary story mechanic." Sandwell felt with the couple separated, as a "key element" of the series, it was hard for the final season to be the "victory lap and celebration" it should.[71] With Fitz once again not featured in the fifth episode, McLevy said "the show better start paying dividends next week on [the FitzSimmons] story, because it has cut its own legs out from underneath by dragging out Fitz’s absence this long." While sympathetic to De Caestecker taking time to work on other projects, McLevy called the extended absence "ridiculous" at the halfway point of the season, since Fitz's absence "isn’t making for great drama any more... By trying to have its keep-the-best-couple-apart cake and eat its mysterious-transformation too, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. lessens the impact of both. Right now, it’s just [Jemma Simmons] failing to express any concern for the biggest person in her life, and without revealing the causes for that, the storyline gradually deflates from the delay."[45]