Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. reached its conclusion on ABC earlier this year, and while it left fans wondering whether the show ever really took place in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the response to the show's final year was a positive one. However, one sticking point for fans was the fact that even though a lot of familiar faces ended up returning, Agent Grant Ward was nowhere to be seen.
Brett Dalton's S.H.I.E.L.D. agent - who was ultimately outed as a HYDRA spy in one of the show's biggest twists - died and came back to life quite a few times, and with alternate universes/timelines and LMDs a big part of the final season, there's no reason that couldn't have happened again.
So, why was Ward M.I.A. from Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s final season? Not even Dalton is sure!
"You and me both," he jokingly responded when we wondered why his character was missing from the series. "I was watching too, thinking, 'I dunno, maybe they filmed something in secret and will pull up some old footage of me from when I was there!' [Laughs] No, sadly, I was never asked and I'm trying not to be sad about it, though I am a little bit."
"I just like to think about how thankful I am for the time that I did have because the journey was incredible and very complex and probably longer than it would have been on another show. However, I think that they liked me so much that they kept me along for the ride, and just after a while they were like, 'Okay, this is sort of stretching the [Laughs] imagination here and I don't know what other iterations we could have for your character, and we've reached the end of the road.'"
"It's okay...I still love them," he concluded. "Because of that show, I moved to LA, and they were the first friends and real family here and I'll forever be grateful for that."
It is a shame the character was overlooked when Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. reached its end, but Dalton has now moved on to the DC Universe for the new Superman: Man of Tomorrow animated movie (which is out now on Digital and arrives on DVD and Blu-ray in the UK on September 7th) where he plays Parasite. Check back here a little later today to hear more from the actor on that.
Were you disappointed that Grant Ward didn't make one final surprise return?