On May 12th, ABC officially announced that Marvel’s Agent Carter would not be returning for a third season. This set the Agent Carter fandom ablaze, mobilizing them to action and into creating a petition targeted at Netflix–achieving over 127,000 signatures in two months.
During the TCAs last week, EW reported that Netflix’s Chief Content Officer Ted Sarandos addressed fans by saying that Marvel’s Agent Carter would not be having a home at Netflix. Sarandos cited that branding and airing rights were the concerns that made Netflix pass on the series. Sarandos said:
[Marvel’s Agent Carter] also have some output deal complexities. So when you pick it up, being able to pick it up globally is difficult even after it’s canceled. Some of those output partners still had it on the air, so they would argue its covered by their output [deals]. Unfortunately, it was a business decision more than a creative one.
While this is a blow to fans, it is not quieting the fans’ desire to see more Agent Carter. Renew Agent Carter is spearheading a new petition, now aimed at Marvel itself. The request is simple: for Marvel to continue telling the story (with the same characters) in some fashion. The new petition is three days old and 2,575 signatures strong. This might be a long haul, but fans of the SSR agent and her friends are up for the challenge.
Fans might be on the right track because it looks like Hayley Atwell and Marvel are indeed interested in continuing telling Agent Carter’s story. At the TCAs during a panel on Atwell’s new show Conviction (also on ABC), Atwell told TVLine: “[Marvel’s Agent Carter’s] still a much-loved show for the people involved in the making of it, and we know it has a special place in the fans’ hearts…and that’s something that I would be very happy to go back to, if the opportunity came.”
It is important to note that cancelling Marvel’s Agent Carter was a choice made by ABC and not Marvel. Marvel is still interested in the Agent Carter property. In an exclusive interview with John Boone of ETOnline, Jeph Loeb spoke of Agent Carter’s future:
Anything is possible. It was not our choice to end Agent Carter. That’s a decision that was made [by ABC]. I think sometimes it’s challenging when you’re a fan, because when you look at the movies, it looks like, “Let’s go make this movie!” And they go make the movie. Whereas, in the television division, we have to wait for the network to say, “We want more of these.” In this particular case, for whatever their reasons, ABC did not order more Agent Carter.
So, now we have this property and this unbelievably talented actress in Hayley [Atwell] and, you know. Nothing’s impossible when Marvel’s involved.
For the time being, fans of Marvel’s Agent Carter need to be patient as Marvel works behind the scenes to bring us more inspiring content. With the powers that be interested in Agent Carter‘s story to continue, it does seem the results will be favorable for the fans. But right now we wait.