ABC is owned by Disney. Marvel is owned by Disney. So it was only a matter of time before we’d see some Marvel properties on ABC television. Reports hit the internet last night that ABC has ordered a pilot from Marvel TV following the organization S.H.I.E.L.D. and to be executive produced by Joss Whedon. That’d be the same Joss Whedon who wrote and directed the biggest movie of the year so far The Avengers.

S.H.I.E.L.D. was the organization spotlighted in that movie and headed by Nick Fury. The pilot would be written by Whedon and his brother Jed along with Maurissa Tancharoen. There have been reports that Whedon might direct the pilot too.

S.H.I.E.L.D. stands for Strategic Hazard Intervention Espionage Logistics Directorate or Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division and can be found in Marvel’s movies and comic books. In the film The Avengers, it’s the organization’s head Nick Fury that recruits Iron Man, Captain America, the Hulk and Thor to form the super hero team.

Production is to begin ASAP and this is the first live-action Marvel television project to be green lit, though many have been discussed including a new Hulk series which Guillermo Del Toro is involved, a series based on Mockingbird, a Punisher focused show and a show based on the comic book Alias.