Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.: Slingshot

• Clark Gregg as Phil Coulson: An agent and former director of S.H.I.E.L.D. (Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement, and Logistics Division).[2]
• Chloe Bennet as Daisy Johnson / Quake: A former agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. who is an Inhuman with earthquake-generating abilities operating as the vigilante "Quake".[2]
• Natalia Cordova-Buckley as Elena "Yo-Yo" Rodriguez:
  A Colombian Inhuman who can move at super speed for a beat of her heart, before returning to the point she started moving from. She serves as an asset to S.H.I.E.L.D.[1] Cordova-Buckley stated the series explores how Rodriguez "feels about having these powers and how to use them and with whom to use them and with whom to team up or not."[3] She added, "We see Yo-Yo begin that conflict of whether she wants to belong to S.H.I.E.L.D. or not. I think at some point we've seen all the [S.H.I.E.L.D.] characters have doubts about the bureaucracy and the power struggle of S.H.I.E.L.D., but I think Yo-Yo's the one that the struggle is the most evident."[4] Marvel Entertainment COO Joe Quesada felt the series gave "a nice focus" into the character of Rodriguez "and an adventure that she had that kind of defines a lot about her character and how she goes about doing her business as an Inhuman."[5] Cordova-Buckley added that the series helped her learn to build a character, as she had never had to hold a series on her own before.[3]
• Jason O'Mara as Jeffrey Mace: The new Director of S.H.I.E.L.D. who is an Inhuman with super-strength and durability.[2]
• Ming-Na Wen as Melinda May: An agent of S.H.I.E.L.D.[2]
• Iain De Caestecker as Leo Fitz: An agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. who is an engineering and weapons technology specialist.[2]
• Elizabeth Henstridge as Jemma Simmons: An agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. who is a biochemist specialist.[2]
• Henry Simmons as Alphonso "Mack" MacKenzie: An agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. who is attracted to Rodriguez.[2]

• Yancey Arias as Victor Ramon: A former National Police of Colombia member-turned-arms dealer who killed Rodriguez's cousin.[6]
• Alexander Wraith as Anderson: An agent of S.H.I.E.L.D.[7]
• Deren Tadlock as Cecilio: An agent of S.H.I.E.L.D.[8]
• Matt Berberi and Hiroo Minami as Ramon's henchman.[9]
• Dale Pavinski as Alpha Dog: A member of the Watchdogs terrorist organization.[9]

Stan Lee cameos through an on-set photograph.[10]

Natalia Cordova-Buckley revealed on December 5, 2016 that a surprise teaser would air the next day following "The Laws of Inferno Dynamics", the mid-season finale of Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s fourth season.[11] The teaser revealed Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.: Slingshot, a 6-part digital series following Cordova-Buckley's S.H.I.E.L.D. character Elena "Yo-Yo" Rodriguez.[1][3] Produced by ABC Studios and Marvel Television,[2] each episode of the series is 3–6 minutes long.[12] Maurissa Tancharoen, Jed Whedon, Jeffrey Bell, Jeph Loeb and Geoffrey Colo are some of the executive producers on the series,[2] with Colo called the "mastermind behind" Slingshot.[13] Colo indicated that ABC and Marvel had been "looking for a while to do a digital series connected to Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. The trick was finding something that fit snuggly into S.H.I.E.L.D.'s timeline and the greater MCU".[14]

Cordova-Buckley was cast as Rodriguez in February 2016, to appear in the third season of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.,[15] and was revealed to be appearing in Slingshot with the December 2016 series announcement.[1] She is joined by other Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. cast members Clark Gregg as Phil Coulson, Jason O'Mara as Jeffrey Mace, Henry Simmons as Alphonso "Mack" MacKenzie, Chloe Bennet as Daisy Johnson / Quake, Ming-Na Wen as Melinda May, Iain De Caestecker as Leo Fitz, and Elizabeth Henstridge as Jemma Simmons.[2]

Yancey Arias recurs as arms dealer Victor Ramon, reprising his role from the Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. episode "Bouncing Back".[6][16][17] Also reprising their roles from S.H.I.E.L.D. are Alexander Wraith and Deren Tadlock as S.H.I.E.L.D. agents Anderson and Cecilio,[7][8][18][19] and Dale Pavinski as the "Alpha Dog" of the Watchdogs.[9][18]

One of Joe Quesada's storyboards for "Vendetta", that highlight his comic-like approach to planning the episode

Marvel Comics COO Joe Quesada, who made his directorial debut with the first episode, created detailed storyboards of the episode like he would with a comic, stating, "The same rules of storytelling, whether its film or television, apply directly to comic books when you do it right."[5] Much of the same crew that works on the main S.H.I.E.L.D. series also worked on Slingshot,[20] including visual effects supervisor Mark Kolpack who returned to supervise the effects for Slingshot.[21]

The majority of the digital series takes place shortly before the events of the fourth season of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.,[1] which Quesada said would allow the series to tell the story "that is in between the cracks" and explore "missing time" since the end of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. season three.[5] Cordova-Buckley added that Slingshot would help viewers "understand the reasoning for many of the decisions that characters make in Season 4," gaining "more of an overall answer of the 'why's'." Such insights include "the struggle between Yo-Yo and Mack, ... the closeness between Daisy and Yo-Yo, ... [and] the relationship between Yo-Yo and S.H.I.E.L.D." from her interactions with Mace and Coulson.[4] In addition, Peggy Carter,[22] Secretary Thaddeus "Thunderbolt" Ross, and his prison The Raft are referenced.[23]

Christina Roberts of Culturess felt Slingshot was "a cool premise" that built off established Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. characters and expanded on those less used. Roberts also felt Slingshot could have worked as a standalone episode on the main series since those episodes are "always a nice breath of fresh air", and was curious if Slingshot would be referenced in Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. when it returned, "even if it's just a wink and a nod between Daisy and Elena."[10] Geek Exchange's Georgia Ringelberg called Slingshot "unnecessary because the plot doesn't add anything to the larger series". Despite this, Slingshot was "a fun, quick watch that's perfect for getting through the mid-season break". Additionally, Ringelberg felt the use of Rodriguez in the series gave the character "some well-deserved attention" and would lead "to more screen time" including "maybe even preparing viewers for the Inhumans series... If they transition her to Inhumans or give her time on both shows, she could be strategically utilized instead of mostly forgotten the way she is now."[24]