Avengers: Patrick Warburton Wants His SHIELD Character to Join the MCU

Patrick Warburton already played a superhero once on The Tick, the short-lived Fox series with a cult following, but the prolific voice actor (Family Guy, Venture Bros, The Emperor’s New Groove) has his sights set on something even bigger next: the Marvel Cinematic Universe. After playing secret agent Rick Stoner in a cameo on Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., Warburton tells Inverse he’s ready to join the MCU proper in an upcoming film. Any film.

“I feel like somewhere in that Marvel universe, this face, this guy could do something,” Warburton says when asked whether Rick Stoner could make it into a Marvel movie.

So clearly, the actor is willing, but does it actually make sense? In the comics, Rick Stoner was the original Director of S.H.I.E.L.D., serving until his assassination at the hands of Hydra agents in 1965. He was replaced by Nick Fury, though the two characters didn’t always see eye-to-eye. The first time they interacted Fury ended up hitting Stoner square in the face.

“He’s another sort of bigger than life character,” Warburton says of his role on S.H.I.E.L.D.

In *Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., Stoner shows up as a hologram in an old government facility during modern times, describing himself as a general in a pre-recorded message. This small change from Director to “General” may allow the character to fit into MCU history, where Peggy Carter presumably served as S.H.I.E.L.D.’s first Director instead.

So it’s possible Stoner/Warburton could turn up in the flesh in some future Marvel movie, but it would likely require time travel (or a period piece set in the 1960s). Avengers: Endgame is expected to feature some sort of time travel, and may even head to the 1970s, but if the MCU sticks to comic book history Stoner will already be dead by then. However, once the ability to travel through time is established, there’s no reason it can’t turn up again in future movies.

Then again, as Marvel Studios moves into Phase 4, it’s possible we could see movies set in the past (or the future). Captain Marvel is already set to be the studios first period piece with its 1990s setting. Why not make a movie set in the ‘60s next?

After all, we’re pretty sure Warburton is up for the task.

Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. returns for a sixth and final season this summer.

Related video: the first 100 episodes of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. in 100 seconds.