After a slow start, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. has quickly become one of our favorite genre series, with new characters (original and canon alike) popping in more and more frequently as the Marvel TV universe expands to include aliens and Inhumans and even Secret Warriors! And in advance of the mid-season premiere of S.H.I.E.L.D., Nerdist News has exclusive confirmation from Marvel that Grant Ward, as portrayed by Brett Dalton, is indeed the villainous Marvel comics character Hive.

Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. producers Jed Whedon and Maurissa Tancharoen shared with Nerdist, “As we saw in the midseason finale episode, Ward is back on Earth, but he’s definitely not the same Ward who went through the portal to the alien world.” Some very attentive fans put the pieces together to correctly guess that yes, Ward has become Hive, a villain who appeared in the Secret Warriors storyline that the current run of S.H.I.E.L.D. episodes is partially based on. Take a look at an exclusive sneak peak of Hive below:

According to Whedon and 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.” Interesting! But what could that mean? Join Jessica Chobot and resident Marvel comics expert Dan Casey for our theories, speculation, and more details about the original comics character on an all-new episode of Nerdist News!

Are you excited to see Brett Dalton take on yet another intriguing villainous role? Let us know in the comments below, and don’t miss the mid-season premiere of Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Tuesday, March 8 at 9/8c on ABC.

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Image: Marvel Comics