Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Reveals New Characters, Carter Adds Captain Directors

There will be some new faces on Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.this fall!

With the government coming after S.H.I.E.L.D., Director Coulson (Clark Gregg) will be on the hunt for anyone who can help the team rebuild. Among the newcomers he'll turn to is Lance Hunter (Nick Blood), who in the comics was the director of S.T.R.I.K.E. — and who we first teased in Mega Buzz. "He's not a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent, he's a mercenary," executive producer Maurissa Tancharoen announced during the Marvel TV Comic-Con panel on Friday.

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Meanwhile, the producers also confirmed that Lucy Lawless will join the cast in Season 2, as first reported by TVGuide.com. "She's playing a longtime S.H.I.E.L.D. veteran," Tancharoen said. "She's tough. She may have a knife that's always by her side. Her name is Isabel Hartley and you'll be seeing her soon."

On the more villainous side of things,  Reed Diamond will play Hydra baddie Daniel Whitehall — otherwise known in the comics as Kraken — who will plague what's left of the team.

Additionally, panel-goers were treated to a sneak peek of Season 2 in which Patton Oswalt plays both Billy Koenig and Sam Koenig — all but confirming the existence of Life Model Decoys in the S.H.I.E.L.D. universe — the latter of which suggests that we might also see Bobbi Morse, aka Mockingbird.

Meanwhile, there was a small bit of news out of the Agent Carterportion of the panel, including a teaser clip with a newspaper headline that asked whether Howard Stark (Dominic Cooper) is a traitor. Unfortunately, executive producer Jeph Loeb declined to confirm whether Tony Stark's father will actually appear on the series.

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The new Marvel drama, which will air in the gap between the first and second halves of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s season, stars Captain America's Hayley Atwell as the titular agent (first name: Peggy), who's dealing with a serious blow as she finds herself marginalized when the men return home from fighting abroad in 1946. Working for the covert SSR (Strategic Scientific Reserve),  she must balance doing administrative work and embarking on secret missions for Howard Stark, all while trying to navigate life as a single woman in America in the wake of losing the love of her life — Steve Rogers (Chris Evans).

Actual spoilers were few and far between, other than Atwell revealing that Agent Carter's first season will explore more of Peggy's military background and the psychological and emotional cost of Agent Carter trying to found S.H.I.E.L.D. as a woman in 1946. Also, Captain America: Winter Soldier directors Joe Russo and Anthony Russo will helm the second and third episodes. Captain America: First Avenger director Joe Johnston is in talks to helm Episode 4.

Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. will premiereTuesday, Sept. 23 at 9/8c on ABC.