At a few points during The Avengers, a couple of characters mention that S.H.I.E.L.D. Agent Phil Coulson (Clark Gregg) is dating a cellist. Because that movie made over $1 billion and nothing in it can be allowed to go to waste, that cellist will shortly be played by Amy Acker in a guest role on Marvel’s Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D. Acker has long been one of show co-creator Joss Whedon’s favorite people—she appeared on his shows Angel and Dollhouse, as well as in his movie adaptation of Much Ado About Nothing, in which Gregg also starred—so Whedon fans have been expecting her to show up on S.H.I.E.L.D. pretty much since the show was announced.
Marvel describes the cellist, named Audrey, as “[a] talented musician turning heads in Portland” who has no idea that Agent Coulson survived his death in The Avengers, or that he’s been quietly protecting her from a super-powered threat from her past. It isn’t clear yet whether Acker will stick around for more than one episode. Still, she’s the second Whedonverse alum to appear on the show, so it’s possible that the floodgates are now open, and that Whedon will begin slowly replacing members of the current cast with actors from his own stable until, by Season 5 he’s basically reassembled the cast from Firefly.
Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. will return with new episodes on April 1.