Marvel Studios: Legends released a Peggy Carter-centric episode that encapsulates the character's run in the Marvel Cinematic Universe -- with one glaring exception.
The episode, which released ahead of Peggy's return in the animated What If...? series, features footage from Hayley Atwell's appearances in the MCU's movies and the 2013 Agent Carter short, yet ignores her role in ABC's Agent Carter. As one fan pointed out on Twitter, the episode goes so far as to use Peggy's iconic red hat from the TV show in its thumbnail without including any clips from the series.
Created by Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely, Agent Carter follows Peggy as she works for the Strategic Scientific Reserve, balancing her life as a secret government agent with that of a single woman living in the post-WWII U.S. The series aired from 2015 to 2016 and received positive reviews before being canceled after two seasons due to low viewership. Despite years of rumors pointing to the show's revival, Agent Carter never returned for a third season.
Agent Carter's absence from the Legends docuseries serves as further proof that Marvel Studios doesn't consider the series developed under the defunct Marvel Television banner canon to the MCU. Launched in 2010, Marvel Television produced Agent Carter and its fellow ABC shows Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. and Inhumans, as well as Marvel's Netflix series, Hulu's Runaways and Freeform's Cloak & Dagger. However, shortly after Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige added Chief Creative Officer to his title in October 2019, Marvel Television was officially folded into Marvel Studios.
Besides ignoring Agent Carter on Marvel Studios: Legends, Disney+ in multiple non-U.S. markets groups Marvel Television's shows under a separate banner from the MCU section, titled "Marvel Legacy Movies and Series." Moreover, WandaVision ret-conned Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s use of the Darkhold earlier this year, while Luke Cage actor Mahershala Ali is starring in Marvel Studios' upcoming MCU reboot of the Blade movies.
At the same time, 2019's Avengers: Endgame quietly acknowledged Agent Carter when it included a cameo from James D'Arcy reprising his role as Howard Stark's faithful butler, Edwin Jarvis, from the show. Combined with Loki and What If...? opening up the multiverse, there's all the more room now for the MCU to tip its hat to Marvel Television's series going forward without deeming them part of the main MCU timeline.
Source: Twitter, via GamesRadar+