Marvel's Zodiac Logo Carries the Agents of SHIELD Eagle, and Clark Gregg's Post Points to a 2028 Return

The logo for Marvel Studios Zodiac, the mysterious live action series Marvel just slated for 2028, has the Agents of SHIELD eagle built right into it. Then Clark Gregg shared the logo on his social media, and taken together, I think this points to the return of Agents of SHIELD.

Marvel Studios unveiled a new slate for its upcoming television going into the next phase, and the 2028 show simply named Marvel Studios Zodiac stood out. As we noted yesterday, there were some curious signals, or should I say symbols, woven into the text, and I held off on this follow-up theory until I could dig into exactly what the show could be.

The O in the Zodiac logo points to the 12 astrological signs

The Zodiac logo has two prominent symbols woven into the text. The first is the O, which is clearly an ode to the zodiac itself. The zodiac belt is divided into 12 equal 30 degree sectors of the sky, each with its own constellation: Aries, Taurus, Gemini, Cancer, Leo, Virgo, Libra, Scorpio, Sagittarius, Capricorn, Aquarius, and Pisces.

The A in Zodiac is the Agents of SHIELD logo simplified

The other symbol makes up the A, and it's very clear. The eagle with the downward V that forms the majority of this letter is, to me, "unmistakably the Agents of Shield logo simplified and interpolated into the logo." On top of that, all of the distinct lines in the logo seem to line up with the lines on the rest of the lettering.

Fans noticed this immediately. But just because the SHIELD emblem is part of the logo doesn't mean this is a new Agents of SHIELD show.

Clark Gregg's social media share changes the picture

That's where Clark Gregg comes in. He went ahead and shared the logo to his social media. Usually I warn against reading too much into an actor's or director's social media in a vacuum, because they'll often support other Marvel projects.

In this specific instance, though, I think it's very safe to assume Clark Gregg is insinuating he's part of the project, and that this truly is an Agents of SHIELD rebirth coming in 2028 as the MCU enters its new phase and its new singular timeline.

The Zodiac in the comics could be who SHIELD is hunting

In the comics, there is a group called the Zodiac. They're a criminal cartel and organization whose members take their names from the 12 astrological signs that make up the zodiac. It could be that the show focuses on Agents of SHIELD hunting those members down, or basically trying to quell that organization.

I don't know what that title then means for a long-term series running on Disney Plus, and I'll come back to that below. But it ties into a bigger question about why Marvel is making these moves at all.

Why cancel Wonder Man and Daredevil to start a new live action show?

As we theorized yesterday, Marvel has been canceling shows it had only just greenlit, like Wonder Man season 2, and it's ending Daredevil after season 3, which was announced at San Diego Comic-Con. You have to think there's a deeper reason for that. Why would you cancel live action shows that fans actually did like, like Wonder Man and Daredevil, in order to start a new live action television show going into the new timeline?

My thought is that they're actually looking to make a serialized TV show. If this truly is a rebirth of Agents of SHIELD, that show ran for several seasons, and I think that's what they're trying to do again. Instead of having shows that are all insular from each other, the reason to tune in would be that it's going into season 4, going into season 5.

A show like that also has the ability to reference the main MCU timeline, the same way Agents of SHIELD originally did during the events of The Winter Soldier. It can reference the main timeline in a way that makes sense while keeping people coming back season to season because of the show itself. We'll see if that theory ends up bearing fruit down the road.

Agents of SHIELD is the perfect franchise for a serialized MCU show

I think Agents of SHIELD is the perfect franchise to do that with. If Marvel had been paying attention, it's probably one of the shows they should have started with when they launched Disney Plus. Fans have certainly been asking for it to come back for quite some time.

I was a huge fan at the time. But with the rights the way they were, you had to see the writing on the wall that the show wasn't going to survive when everything got scooped up. Now Marvel Studios is bringing it back at a time when we're entering a fresh timeline.

And in 2028, when a bunch of mutants are hitting the scene, my thought process is that this show will probably work toward one major element that will play into the end of the mutant saga.

The Zodiac title still raises questions

That's also why the title strikes me as odd. If the Zodiac is, say, the criminal organization SHIELD fights in the first season, it doesn't really make sense for a second season to still be called Zodiac. And if this is an Agents of SHIELD show, why not just name it Agents of SHIELD or something along those lines?

I also really highly doubt we're going to get 12 seasons of Agents of SHIELD hunting down one member of the Zodiac each season. So there are a lot of question marks still surrounding this. But with Clark Gregg's share pointing to this being what we think it is, I think it opens up an immense possibility for Marvel Studios to finally get it right with a serialized show that can really come out and catch its stride.

Limited shows can be great, but long runs make classics

Marvel has also decided to double down on Marvel Zombies, announcing three brand new spinoffs. There are ways to do shows that make sense. Some of the best shows in TV history have been limited, and I'd point to the English version of The Office, which had only two seasons and that's it.

But when a show is really good and can run into its sixth, seventh, or eighth season, that's the type of show that can actually become a classic. That's why I pointed out yesterday that this change may be an attempt to replicate that model.

The business case: one show people sign up for

Putting out shows with good or bad ratings doesn't translate into the bottom line for Marvel Studios or for Disney. People aren't signing up for Disney Plus to watch the third season of Daredevil. They're not signing up for new Disney Plus subscriptions on the announcement that Wonder Man season 2 is coming. Outside of a couple of limited options, like licensing shows to other global platforms and networks, there aren't a lot of ways to monetize them.

The new model may be: let's get one show that makes people sign up and maintain their subscriptions so they can watch it year in and year out. I think the animated projects Marvel is pushing now, the new Marvel Zombies seasons and extended seasons of X-Men '97, will fill in the gap, making Marvel television a primarily animated slate with the occasional live action show.

What they avoid that way is shows like Wonder Man, Daredevil, and Loki taking place in a vacuum, isolated from each other, which doesn't really drive you to tune back in for the next season. That's something they're catching with X-Men '97 across seasons 1 and 2, and now they want to translate it to live action.

I hope Chloe Bennet comes back

I know a lot of people are going to be super excited, and the first question many will have is whether Chloe Bennet is coming back. I hope so. There were a lot of OGs on that show I would love to see back in the new timeline. We'll have to keep our fingers crossed.

Which Agents of SHIELD cast members would you most like to see return in Marvel Studios Zodiac?