One of the big additions to the cast of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. for season 3 was Natalia Cordova-Buckley joining the series as Elena 'Yo-Yo' Rodriguez. Her addition was used to help promote the Secret Warriors story. But even as the series moved past that, Yo-Yo has continued to be a big part of the series. Throughout season 4, she has been working more and more with S.H.I.E.L.D., but has also been helping Daisy Johnson (Chloe Bennet) stay out of sight.
Despite her continued presence on the show, Yo-Yo has remained a supporting character, one ready to move into a higher profile role. Instead of devoting an entire episode to the character -- as the series did last season with Simmons in '4,722 Hours' -- Marvel has announced that Yo-Yo will star in her own digital series, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.: Slingshot.
The announcement came after the Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. midseason finale, and was the "surprise teaser" that the actor shared via Twitter yesterday. The series will consist of six episodes premiering December 13, exclusively online. Marvel released a promo for the series as well as a synopsis for her adventures:
"Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.: Slingshot is set in the world of the hit television series Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Taking place shortly before the beginning of Season 4, this digital series features the character of Elena "Yo-Yo" Rodriguez (Natalia Cordova-Buckley), an Inhuman with the ability to move with super-speed. As a person with powers, she must sign the recently instituted Sokovia Accords, the worldwide agreement that regulates and tracks those with super powers. However, the restrictions of the Accords are in direct conflict with a personal mission she's desperate to fulfill, a mission that will test her abilities, her allegiances, and will include some tense encounters with our most popular S.H.I.E.L.D. team members."
This is an exciting announcement on multiple levels, not only for fans of the show and Yo-Yo, but also those involved. For Cordova-Buckley, this will be her first chance to be a lead in a project, much less one tasked with filling the void of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. during the winter hiatus. The episodes themselves will be three to six minutes long each according to the Instagram post regarding the announcement. This should give her roughly 20 minutes of individual storytelling depending on how long each episode truly runs.
For Marvel, this is a venture into digital content that will be considered part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe canon. So far, Marvel has moved onto streaming services like Netflix and Hulu (soon, anyway), but this will make for an interesting test that could lead to more miniseries featuring different characters.
Giving Yo-Yo her own mini-series should help build a whole new fan base around the character. For now, Yo-Yo has been given the honor of being the first character to get a digital series with Marvel and, should everything go according to plan, hopefully she won't be the last.
Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.: Slingshot will be available December 13, exclusively on ABC.com
Source: ABC