By far the most anticipated TV shows soon going into production is Joss Whedon’s S.H.I.E.L.D.

Having taken the Marvel Cinematic Universe to new heights with the release of The Avengers this year, Whedon was soon not only handed the job to write and direct The Avengers 2, but also set to write the pilot for a S.H.I.E.L.D. TV series alongside brother Jed Whedon and Maurissa Tancharoen.

We’ve recently heard that Clark Gregg and Ming-Na have been cast as two of the leading roles, and now Variety’s Marc Graser has written on Twitter that the series is to start shooting in January, and that we can no doubt expect a lot more casting news in the next month.

One of the interesting things about Graser’s tweet is that it says the ‘series’ starts shooting in January, not just the pilot.

If that is indeed the case, it would be amazing news. Given the popularity of Marvel’s films since Iron Man in 2008, I think we’ve all been expecting the pilot to get picked up for a full series. But if things can move ahead faster than that, going straight into shooting the full season, we’d be seeing it on the small screen sooner rather than later, which is naturally nothing but good news.

When the programme was first announced, Whedon was expected to take the helm for the pilot, if his schedule permitted, and here’s to hoping that that remains the case – he’s a brilliant director, and it’s always excellent to see him in the director’s chair.

If everything moves along smoothly, and if the shooting schedule is indeed accurate, then here’s to hoping we might see Marvel expanding their universe to the small screen before the end of next year. More as we get it.