Upon its release, the latest trailer for Spider-Man: Far From Home changed everything we thought we knew about the Marvel Cinematic Universe. It revealed that Thanos' Infinity Stone-powered finger snap tore a hole in reality itself and opened the door to parallel universes, like the one the film's Quentin Beck/Mysterio comes from. The idea of alternate worlds was first mentioned in Doctor Strange, and further teased in Avengers: Endgame. Now, with the release of the new Far From Home trailer, we will finally see the debut of the Marvel Multiverse.
The introduction of parallel universes instantly opens up an infinite number of possibilities, but the debut of the Marvel Multiverse isn't just something that charts a course for the future. No, it's also one that effectively rewrites the fabric of the MCU's past by legitimizing every Marvel TV show produced ever since ABC's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. premiered on ABC in 2012.
With the arrival of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., Marvel had fans subscribe to the notion that every film and television series was connected. And it was true -- well, at least partially. The ABC series largely took place around the events of the films (at least in its first few seasons), Netflix's various Defenders series dropped the odd mention of "The Incident" (the Battle of New York) and some superheroes, but rarely, if ever, by their actual names.
Over time, fans realized that shows such as Netflix's Daredevil, ABC's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. and even Hulu's Runaways would never actually have any impact on the MCU films. Therefore, it became easy to dismiss them as products that weren't official canon. This only grew worse when Disney announced plans for its upcoming streaming service Disney+, which will include such live-action series as Falcon and the Winter Soldier, WandaVision and Loki -- all of which will see the return of the big screen actors on the small screen.
By that point, fans could easily lose any and all interest in the upcoming season of the already-canceled Jessica Jones, or the just-debuted sixth season of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.
However, the introduction of the Marvel Multiverse changes all of that. Now, the "It's all connected" mantra can actually make sense again -- just not in the way we initially believed. All of these television shows can now officially be seen as taking place in another universe. There is no longer a need to worry about how the shows fit into the timeline of the MCU. Fans don't have to wonder why the Defenders didn't show up in Avengers: Endgame, or why the Avengers never once showed up to help fight the Hand. The answer is simple. They are in separate universes.
Now, you can sit back and enjoy the new season of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. without any of those questions. It's much easier to get onboard with the show that way, especially considering that Agent Coulson is alive and that S.H.I.E.L.D. is back in action on the series -- two developments that simply have no place in the film's timeline. But that doesn't mean that the ABC series isn't legitimate. In fact, it's likely we can now enjoy the series more than ever.
Every Marvel TV show, both the canceled and the renewed, have now been given a new life. They aren't just disconnected productions that aren't canon to the films. They are now stories from alternate Earths that comprise the Marvel Multiverse. Now, everything is canon -- somewhat, at least. Essentially, Spider-Man: Far From Home's latest trailer has just fixed the main problem with Marvel's TV shows.
Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. airs Fridays at 8 pm ET/PT on ABC. The series stars Ming-Na Wen, Chloe Bennet, Henry Simmons, Iain De Caestecker, Natalia Cordova-Buckley, Elizabeth Henstridge and Clark Gregg. Spider-Man: Far From Home hits theaters July 2.