Marvel’s Agent Carter, or simply Agent Carter, is an American series created for ABC by Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely, premised mostly on Marvel Comics protagonist Peggy Carter (cue Marvel fans screaming in the background), obeying her characters in the movie Captain America: The First Avenger and the 2013 Marvel One-Shot short film Agent Carter.
It takes place in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) and maintains continuity with the franchise’s films and television shows. The show quickly became a fan favorite, and fans are eagerly anticipating Agent Carter season 3.
At the Heroes & Villains Fan Fest in 2017, Hayley Atwell spoke about the season three plans. She added that if the series had a third season, it would have gone into further detail about Peggy’s English childhood and the significant impact her brother had on her life – as well as her connection with the Jarvis family. What is the current status of the show’s renewal? Will there be an Agent Carter Season 3? Continue reading to find out!
Agent Carter Season 3 Renewal Status
I’m sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but the program has most likely been cancelled. All hope is not lost, but here’s what we know so far.
The first season, which consisted of eight episodes, aired from January 6 to February 24, 2015, while the second season, which consisted of ten episodes, ran from January 19 to March 1, 2016. Despite a good critical reaction, ratings dropped, and ABC canceled Agent Carter on May 12, 2016.
Before the cancellation, Atwell stated of the show’s future, “We think that there could be more to come….the [second season] finale doesn’t suggest that that’s it and they live happily ever after; that’s the end. We know that’s not the case. They’ve done it in a very clever way which wraps up and that gives the audience a very satisfying conclusion but they’re not quite finishing it”.
Fazekas revealed that Markus and McFeely had an early concept to put the third season in London, but they changed their minds. “you can put the show anywhere because it’s spies. [The location is] all going to be determined by what story we want to tell. I loved [Los Angeles]. I loved how it looked, I loved how it looked on Peggy. We would be very happy to do another L.A. season, but we’re not married to it.”
Fazekas also stated that seeds for a third season were sown during the second season and that the finale of the second season—with someone shooting Thompson and stealing the M. Carter file—was a foreshadowing of a third season.
Is There Potential For the Revival of Agent Carter?
During the Endgame promotion, Markus and McFeely were questioned about the possibility of Agent Carter being revived by Disney’s new streaming service Disney+. McFeely admitted that the series’ fans were “very passionate,” but he was dubious if there was enough support to warrant the series’ and its period setting’s production costs.
D’Arcy later reprised his role as Jarvis in the MCU film Avengers: Endgame (2019), making him the first character established in an MCU television series to star in an MCU film. In addition, Gjokaj will reprise his role as Sousa in Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.’s seventh season.
Why Was Agent Carter Season 3 Cancelled?
Atwell explained why Agent Carter Season 3 was canceled.
“It’s a shame the network canceled it and wanted to put me in something more mainstream,” she said. You know, Marvel didn’t want it to end. There are lots of online campaigns to bring her back. Fans loved her. I think it was just a network economical thing: ‘Let’s put Hayley Atwell in something more mainstream that’s less genre-specific and see if we can get higher ratings.
“And unfortunately, that isn’t, as an actor, anything I’ve got control over. But maybe, in small ways, characters like Peggy Carter very slowly pave the way for it to be possible for other female-led narratives to exist. We’re all part of the same conversation.”
According to co-creator Stephen McFeely, we’re unlikely to see a second season of Agent Carter on Disney+.
“I don’t know. It was an expensive show. You’re doing period [drama] as well as you can in Los Angeles,” he said.
“I don’t know how big the fanbase is, but what it is is really dedicated. And we love the character. So I don’t know, I just don’t know.”
If you think your ex gave you mixed signals, what the Agent Carter cast and crew have to say is enough to make one dizzy. Marvel TV boss Jeph Loeb sounded more positive. “Wouldn’t that be cool?” he said. “Find us a network! Hayley has been kind of saying she’d love to come back.”
Buuuut Atwell’s viewpoint has shifted over time, which is not surprising considering that the program ended more than three years ago.
“I think the main thing, though, is if it were – if there were interest in Netflix or in her being in a film or something – that it would have to feel… it would have to feel right,” she said.
“I wouldn’t want to go over old ground. It would have to be new, there would have to be higher production values so she could do more. I’d have to feel like it’s not just, you know, ‘a case a week with Peggy Carter’.
“If she’s had an impact on audiences, let that impact grow, so it delights them, but I think it should be to do with more of the current climate now. What are smart issues to bring up? How to create any sort of kind of social weight, an emotional kind of gravitas to the show.”
Atwell has certainly given much thought to where Peggy may go next. And it really makes one hope that Jeph Loeb and Kevin Feige bring the show back.
Agent Carter Season 3 Potential Plot
The first season is set in 1946 when Peggy Carter must juggle her ordinary office duties for the Strategic Scientific Reserve (SSR) in New York City with surreptitiously supporting Howard Stark, who is accused of delivering lethal weapons to adversaries of the United States. Carter is aided by Stark’s butler, Edwin Jarvis, in locating the perpetrators and disposing of the weapons. In the second season, Carter relocates from New York City to Los Angeles to deal with the Secret Empire’s dangers of the new Atomic Age in the aftermath of World War II, making new friends, finding a new house and maybe meeting a new love interest.
Jose Molina, who authored episodes for both seasons of the ABC show, disclosed what was initially intended if the MCU tie-in got extended for a third season by the network. Molina implied that the show’s Cold War covert mystery would have been raised with the narrative of traveling overseas.
“The initial thrust was going to come from the investigation into the assassination attempt on Jack Thompson,” explained Molina. “We were hoping (assuming we could afford it) that the story would then lead us to London, where we would learn that Peggy’s late brother Michael was not only alive and kicking but involved in some very nefarious, super-villainous shenanigans.”
Agent Carter Season 3 Potential Cast
- Hayley Atwell as Peggy Carter:
An SSR agent was initially stuck doing administrative work. Butters said Carter’s “superpower is the fact that other people underestimate her. - James D’Arcy as Edwin Jarvis:
Howard Stark’s butler and ally to Carter, who will eventually be a tutor to Tony Stark and inspire his J.A.R.V.I.S. artificial intelligence. - Chad Michael Murray as Jack Thompson:
A war veteran and agent with the SSR, described as chauvinistic and “chest-puffing”. Murray compared the character to Indiana Jones and stated that “he’s working his way up to become the head of the SSR. - Enver Gjokaj as Daniel Sousa:
A war veteran who is an agent with the SSR and experiences prejudice due to his injured leg.
Shea Whigham as Roger Dooley will not be seen. The SSR chief oversees agents Carter, Thompson, and Sousa, until he dies to save his fellow SSR agents at the end of season one.
That’s all we know about Agent Carter Season 3 so far. Stay tuned for more!
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