Warning: S.H.I.E.L.D. Season 3 spoilers below if you aren't caught up through the midseason finale.

When Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. took its winter break, the fate of Ward (Brett Dalton) wasn’t crystal clear. When the character met his end at the hands of Agent Coulson (Clark Gregg), his body played host to an alien entity. Comic book fans tried piecing together the evidence to figure out what’s going on, and it turns out that some were spot on.

Thanks to Nerdist, we have official confirmation on the new (though, perhaps, not-so improved) Ward, who is playing the comic book villain Hive. The creature was a creation of Hydra through an innumerable amount of parasites, and has the ability to control peoples’ minds through the parasites he emits. We’re already seeing some differences here from the MCU, as Hive is an Inhuman that Hydra has been worshipping.


agents-of-shield-ward-hive
Image via ABC

According to S.H.I.E.L.D. producers Jed Whedon and Maurissa Tancharoen:

[This version of 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 in the world of Marvel’s Agents of S.H.IE.L.D.

To help preview this character adaptation, Nerdist also premiered an image of Ward’s transmogrification. Dalton also earlier teased to IGN of the character:

Suddenly it’s about bigger things, so Hydra is about something even bigger than what I thought. I didn’t even know the organization existed as long as it did. It’s been around for centuries, trying to get this creature from another planet. There’s a lot of much bigger things at play here. So that means more trouble for this guy over here.

Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.’s midseason premiere will drop on Tuesday, March 8th on ABC, and check back for Evan Valentine's recaps. In the meantime, watch a promo for the new episode below.