When Adrianne Palicki joined the cast of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. as Bobbi Morse/Mockingbird, there was a lot of excitement among fans. The series had largely focused on original characters up until that point, so a legit superhero joining the crew was welcomed.
Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. ended with season 7, and a planned spin-off led by Palicki and Nick Blood's Lance Hunter, Marvel's Most Wanted, shot a pilot while the series was on the air. However, it didn't receive the green light, and that was it for Mockingbird.
Taking to The Direct, Palicki confirmed that, when she signed up to play Mockingbird in 2014, she was promised the opportunity to bring the character to the big screen.
"The conversation I had when I signed on actually to 'Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.' was either I was going to be participating in the films or have a spin-off," she explained. It could be that Marvel's Most Wanted only moved forward to fulfil that contractual obligation as Marvel Studios had little interest in utilising Marvel Television characters.
Palicki added, "[We] did a spin-off that we shot, which is actually great, but I think it was at the time where ABC was literally getting rid of all of their Marvel shows. Like, 'Agent Carter' got taken off the air, our show didn't get picked up, 'Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.' was on the verge of syndication, so it stayed on."
"[Marvel's Most Wanted not happening] was a big, big bummer because I love playing Bobbi Morse. I love Mockingbird, so… And the thing that sucks is the show is really good," she continued. "It's funny the difference between DC and Marvel, right? Like you can see the 'Wonder Woman' pilot I did, but I don't think they'll ever, ever show the Mockingbird spin-off."
"You know, I had to go into the producer’s office and sign something to actually watch it," she added.
Palicki has had mixed fortunes in the superhero space, as her Wonder Woman pilot also wasn't picked up. Set photos showed her suited up as the Amazon, while the episode did eventually leak online and can still be found with a quick Google search.
An MCU return for the actor doesn't seem likely because Hawkeye established that Laura Barton was Mockingbird. The insinuation was that she retired from S.H.I.E.L.D. to have a family with Clint Barton, but who knows what might happen in the post-Avengers: Secret Wars MCU.
In 2023, Palicki revealed her desire to take on another superhero role in the MCU. "The only one that I haven’t played that’s on my bucket list is Rogue," she said. "I would love to play Rogue, or Jean Grey. I want to be one of the X-Men."
Were you disappointed that Palicki didn't get a second chance as Mockingbird in Marvel's Most Wanted?