Deadline reported Tuesday that ABC has signed Avengers scriptwriter Joss Whedon to write a pilot for a live-action TV show about S.H.I.E.L.D. Whedon will be assisted in writing by his brother Jed and by Maurissa Tancharoen, who join in executive producing with Jeffrey Bell and Joseph Loeb. Whedon may also direct. Production is set to begin immediately. Plots will reportedly be autonomous from the Avengers movie storylines and use different characters, though overlap and cross-promotion seem inevitable.
Thanks to Vinnie Vegas of Silver State Chronicles for the heads-up.