***This post contains a spoiler for AGENTS OF SHIELD. You've been warned.***
There's been many theories regarding who Grant Ward has now become in AGENTS OF SHIELD, but now showrunners Jed Whedon and Maurissa Tancharoen have officially revealed it to Nerdist. Before AGENTS OF SHIELD went into its midseason break, Ward was last seen on an alien planet left for dead. However, before the midseason finale credits rolled, Ward was shown back on Earth not looking himself anymore.
“As we saw in the midseason finale episode, Ward is back on Earth, but he’s definitely not the same Ward who went through the portal to the alien world,” Whedon and Tancharoen said confirming he is now the entity known as Hive.
In case you're not familiar with who, or what, Hive is, here's an excerpt from Marvel's wiki:
"Created in the Hydra laboratories in their home base of Gehenna, the Hive was an experiment made to physically embody the Hydra ideal. The entity is composed of untold numbers of genetically-engineered parasites. An unknown and unwitting Hydra agent was offered/fed to these parasites as a host around which they could merge into a singular being. Grotesque and menacing in both stature and appearance the Hive had no identity of its own, per se, as its collective will dominates the human host it engulfs; however, it possesses a quiet and cunning intelligence and as a result of its conditioning is completely dedicated to the Hydra cause..."
The above snippet is the version of Hive in the comic book universe; the showrunners will have a slightly different, adapted, take on the villain.
“[Hive] is going to have its own unique twist and be very different from what fans have seen so far. We will see similarities that pay homage to the original character, but fans will see that Hive is taking an exciting new direction...”
AGENTS OF SHIELD returns from its midseason break on ABC on March 8.
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