Marvel’s Agents of SHIELD may be on an extended hiatus, but fans now at least know exactly when the SHIELD team will be back in action.

On Instagram, Agents of SHIELD star Elizabeth Henstridge seemingly confirmed that the Marvel Television series will return to ABC in July 2019.

On one of Henstridge’s photo posts to Instagram, an Agents of SHIELD fan asked when the series would return for its sixth season. Henstridge responded, telling him the series would be back in July.

Production on Marvel’s Agents of SHIELD Season Six began in late July with Clark Gregg directing the premiere episode, titled “Missing Pieces.”

That title may be a reference to the missing members of the SHIELD team. Coulson, left the team to live out his final days in Tahiti and Agent May joined him. Leo Fitz died in the Season Five finale during the final battle with Glenn Talbot, who had become Graviton, though the SHIELD team hopes to find the version of him that had previously been sent into space in a state of suspended animation.

Also missing is Deke, Fitz and Jemma Simmons' grandson from the future. Deke left base just before the final battle took place, but the fact that actor Jeff Ward has been upped to series regular in Season Six suggest that Deke will be back. That Deke still exists also seems like a good omen for Simmons and Fitz being reunited.

The sixth season of Marvel's Agents of SHIELD will consist of 13 episodes rather than the usual 22 episodes. The July 2019 release means the series will follow after the fourth Avengers movie and thus avoid having to incorporate the effects of Thanos' Infinity Gauntlet snap into its stories, though the show's writers may still choose to reference the event.

ABC head Channing Dungey has stated that the decision to move Agents of SHIELD into the summer was in the hopes that it could earn another renewal.

"We'll see [if it's the end]," she said. "I feel like last season was our strongest creative season ever and the fan base remains very loyal — and we do very well in delayed viewing. It's my hope that by moving it to summer, where our live-same-day ratings are less important and it might be able to continue for longer."

Are you excited for Agents of SHIELD to begin filming its sixth season? Let us know what you think in the comments!

via MCU Exchange