Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s Brett Dalton Wants to Make It Clear That the Ward You Knew Is Gone—For Good

Hear from Brett Dalton and Clark Gregg on how their characters are changed in the midseason premiere of ABC's Marvel series

By Billy Nilles Mar 08, 2016 8:00 PMTags
Watch: Agent Ward From " S.H.I.E.L.D." Describes Character Twist

When Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. finally returns tonight, get ready for a whole new Ward. 

If it wasn't clear from that final moment in last fall's midseason finale, whatever came back from that planet is not the Grant Ward we've all come to know and love to hate. And as Brett Dalton told E! News, this new Ward 2.0 is operating on a completely different level. 

When asked to describe the new hybrid creature he's playing in three words, Dalton opted for, "Hellbent, perhaps, malicious, and multi-faceted." In other words, think Ward multiplied by 100.

ABC

So, is there anything of Ward left? Allow Dalton to explain. "I think what we saw with Will (Simmons' love-turned-original Inhuman host), that's kind of a good meter stick," he said. "He's not a zombie all of a sudden, even though he might look it a little bit. He still walks and talk like a human, even though he is inhabited by this other creature, and I think that Ward as we know and hopefully love him won't completely disappear, but I think that the Ward we came to know is no longer. And I was quite sad when I first read it, so I share the audience's pain. We're on another chapter for Ward's epic, crazy journey."

Of course, Ward isn't the only thing returning from that planet changed. Coulson (Clark Gregg) did essentially murder Ward and leave him for dead, after all. Did Ward deserve it? Sure. Does that justify what Coulson did? Not really. And it turns out, Gregg agrees. "Some people did some fairly evil things that may have got them in that position, but everyone loses control for a minute or two and, sorry, I feel like I lost control," he told E! News. "I know that it's messed him up. The line that you walk, as someone who tries to fight evil, is you try not to become evil in the process. Although, sometimes, people who have issues push you to the point where you get pretty close. So, that's what he's dealing with."

For more from Dalton on the new Ward, be sure to press play on the video above. And to see more from Gregg, including intel on how Coulson's handling the loss of Rosalind (Constance Zimmer), be sure to press play on the video below!

Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. returns tonight at 9 p.m. on ABC.

Watch: "Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D." Stars Tease Season 3 Return