Hayley Atwell Wants Peggy Carter to Appear (and Star) in More Marvel Movies

Hayley Atwell's Peggy Carter is a character loved by fans; a strong woman who's immensely talented and has more than proven her worth to the MCU. She was instrumental in the creation of S.H.I.E.L.D. and, as we have seen from the two series of Agent Carter, even helped save the world a couple of times as well. But sadly, Agent Carter was cancelled by ABC and all we've heard of Peggy since then was the news of her death in Captain America: Civil War.

In all of her appearances, Peggy has been a great character, and it's evident that #HayleyAtwell loves playing her, so it seems a shame that we might not see her again (though she could theoretically show up in Infinity War). In a recent interview with IGN, Atwell explains that she feels there's more to Peggy's story:

"I'd love to see [Peggy] more in films. I'd love to see her in her own film. And if we can keep evolving it so that she does new things so that I can surprise myself and she can keep surprising me then I'd love to do it."

Although it's never surprising to hear that a popular Marvel actor wants to reprise their role, Hayley Atwell has a great point here - and the MCU would surely benefit from Peggy's further involvement.

We Need More Peggy Carter: An Important MCU Role Model

Agent Carter offered something different to the rest of the #MCU: a period piece featuring a strong, female lead. Peggy was arguably the breakout character from Captain America: The First Avenger and Hayley Atwell's performance only made the fans love her even more. She had a 'no nonsense' approach and never let anything hold her back, particularly as her colleagues would often underestimate her capabilities. Agent Carter was beloved by fans who truly related to Peggy as a character.

Peggy had to prove herself to her male colleagues because of the casual sexism that was rife in the 1940s. She never let this get her down and proved an inspiration to many, which was particularly clear at the end of Season 1 when Agent Jack Thompson received the credit for all of her work. Rather than dwell on this, Peggy took it on the chin and proclaimed that she knew her value, and what others thought of her was irrelevant.

Her supporting cast were also great additions to the MCU, with characters like Edwin Jarvis being particularly brilliant to watch. Carter's rapport with Howard Stark's butler was one of the key relationships that drove the show forward, making the show's cancellation even sadder. Not only do we need more Peggy Carter, but we also need more Jarvis!

Agent Carter's Legacy: Peggy Lives!

Even though the show was cancelled, Agent Carter lives on thanks to Peggy's inspirational qualities and the impact that has had on Marvel fans.

"I feel very privileged to be part of something that people really love and that entertains them. But also, you're going to these conventions and meeting people who've named their son Carter and people who have a tattoo of "I Know My Value," the tagline. She's a force of good and there are a lot of social media sites where girls and guys have come together and become good friends on an international scale because of their belief in some of the values that Peggy talks about. And that provides them with a different connection that a family situation or school situation that they don't really feel they have a place in. That's really cool to me. So I'm very happy to be a part of that world and keep that going."

Perhaps the biggest plaudit to Agent Carter's popularity can be taken from the fact that Peggy herself is not a superhero and is therefore more relatable. The focus is on Peggy Carter as a person, rather than an action hero. She goes out of her way to do the right thing and doesn't ask for any credit for her actions. The fact that she's an action-hero is clearly the secondary focus of the series. Peggy knows her value, and that's the key.

So, Is There A Future For Agent Carter?

While there's no immediate plans for a revival of the series, we know that #Marvel's movies and TV shows are all connected, so there's definitely scope to bring it back one day. As Hayley Atwell explains, the decision not to renew the series wasn't due to the show's quality.

"You know Marvel and all the creatives behind the making of the show loved it. And we loved it. We all loved making it. It was a network political thing. They wanted to put me in something mainstream [Conviction] to get their ratings up rather than something that was more genre specific. There were a lot of economic decisions behind it and I wasn't a part of the conversation."

The network clearly felt that Hayley Atwell deserved a more prominent, mainstream role, which lead to her new role in Conviction. But the fact remains that she was perfect as Agent Carter. Fortunately, we know that Carter lives to the age of 96, so there's plenty of untold adventures just waiting to be shared with the Marvel fandom.

"We were all really surprised about that because we kind of got the sense that people were liking it. It had this cult following. So I know there've been online campaigns for it and the fact that we know that she lives until the age of 96 means that technically I could be employed for the rest of my life, you know."

After the success of DC's Wonder Woman, #Marvel have been hit with some criticism regarding their lack of female leads. While they have some strong female characters, Captain Marvel will be the first film to focus on a female superhero. Before this, we had Agent Carter, which was a truly great series that was defined by Peggy's values. The character's longevity, coupled with the fact that she was instrumental in key MCU events means that there's still plenty of stories to tell.