(Spoiler alert: Please do not read on if you haven’t watched the season premiere of “Agents of SHIELD”)
While the Ghost Rider was the main attraction during the season premiere of “Agents of SHIELD,” the Whedons have already started making good on their promise to connect the show to the next Marvel Cinematic Universe entry, “Doctor Strange.”
In the premiere episode, we see Coulson and Mack — fresh from their demotion to field agents by the new SHIELD director — head out to L.A. to try to follow some leads on where Ghost Rider might be.Along the way, they discover two dead Chinese gangsters that apparently attacked each other thanks to whatever mysterious cargo they were carrying.
Later, we see the contents of that cargo: A mysterious ghost-woman that possesses its victims and makes them see each other with black, corpse-like faces. May comes to the rescue when the Chinese gang release the ghosts and get infected, but she ends up getting possessed as well. At the end of the episode, May begins to see the dark faces while speaking with Coulson. These dark faces may be a connection between “Agents of SHIELD” and “Doctor Strange.”
Go back and watch the trailer for “Doctor Strange,” and take a look at Mads Mikkelsen‘s character, Kaecilius. He sports some gruesome scars, as his eyes look severely burned with purple-black skin. The scars look very similar to May’s hallucinations, and the nature of this new threat seems to jibe with the mystical themes of “Doctor Strange.”
“Doctor Strange” is set to premiere in theaters November 4, between episodes 7 and 8 of “Agents of SHIELD.” Last season, we saw the Sokovia Accords come into play on “AoS” immediately after they were introduced in “Captain America: Civil War.” If May’s possession is indeed connected to the world of Doctor Strange and The Ancient One, we should see it become clear around that time.