Joe Quesada Talks AGENTS OF S.H.I.E.L.D., Graviton's Debut, BIG HERO 6 Update And More

You can never, ever take any of this stuff for granted. I think therein lies disaster. We always make everything we do -- whether it's our comics, movies, animated shows or now our live TV episodes -- to the best of our abilities with the best intent and with all our heart and souls. And then, at the end of the day, it's out of our hands. It's up to the audience to let us know if we've succeeded in some small fashion. We've been very, very lucky up to this point -- very blessed -- that we've had a decent success rate, and hopefully that'll continue. But you can't take it for granted. There will be more projects that come down the road, and you've got to make sure you're vigilant and at your best for those, and you can never lose sight of the fact that the audience has great expectations.

No, I certainly wouldn't call myself the Tom Brevoort of the Cinematic Universe but we are working closely with the Studio side of Marvel to make sure that we're not conflicting in any way and vice versa. While I do have an intimate knowledge of what's going on in both worlds, and of course I jump in if there is a conflict, it's always good to have the guys who are in the trenches of our film world keeping a helpful eye as well. The simple answer is that we're all involved in trying to keep the Marvel ducks in a row. But this is also where Jeph Loeb is so instrumental in making sure that everyone is kept in the loop. Jeph is constantly on the go and on the phone with "Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D." and really all things having to do with Marvel TV. Quite honestly, I don't know how he does it!

There were several reasons for using Hall. If you're a long time Marvel fan, of course you'll recognize the name, and we knew that would pique interest. It's always fun to throw in an established character when you can to get fans excited. Heck, it gets us excited! But he's also a very compelling character on his own. So if you're not a comic fan, he's a character you'll be introduced to who we think will appeal to folks who don't have an encyclopedic knowledge of the MU, especially this incarnation that our "Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D." writing team has come up with. Of course our loyal fans know that some interesting things happen to Dr. Franklin Hall in the pages of our comics, and while I'm not saying that those things happen here, the fact that perhaps someday they might is kind of cool.

Marc and those guys have done a great job with "Arrow." It's a great show. I wouldn't say there are any hard and fast rules, though we do try to keep to a certain feel and tone. Obviously, the Marvel Universe takes place in the real world, and there's a tonality to the things that we produce that have a distinct, bigger than life Marvel feel. But overall it's about great story and great performances and great characters, and most importantly fun with a sense of humor.

"Big Hero 6" is really looking great. Don Hall, Kristina Reed and the entire crew are such amazingly talented people and have such a love for all things Marvel that it's been an absolute blast working with them. They've really taken the BH6 property, which at the end of the day doesn't have a lot of publishing history behind it, and built an entire world and mythology around it. Being there from the very beginning, the process has been amazing to watch. The amount of research Don and his crew have done is exhaustive and beyond thorough, and I don't just mean with respect to reading the comics. From the design of the characters and their tech to the look of the world, no stone has been left unturned and a lot of frequent flyer miles have been tallied up to get where they are at this juncture. These guys have traveled the globe to make BH6 the very best it can be. It's a tribute to how John Lasseter runs the animation division. He encourages this kind of thorough research, and you'll undoubtedly see the results in the story and on the screen and I'm sure in the making of DVD. [Laughs] At the end of the day, the hope is that the audience won't be consciously aware of it because it'll be seamless. And really, that's what you want. You just want people to accept this incredibly fantastical world as the reality they're living in for the next 90 minutes.