"Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D" Season 4 will have actress Mallory Jansen as the first Life Model Decoy on Marvel TV.
Jansen joins the growing cast of "Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D" on ABC as Dr. Radcliffe's (John Hannah) personal assistant, Aida, TV Line reported. Aida is the artificial intelligence developed by John Hanna's Dr. Radcliffe.
In the conclusion of "Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D" Season 3, Radcliffe is seen gifting his virtual assistant a new robotic form after a six-month time jump. This development could set up a new conflict in the series because the technology could go rouge on a number of occasions, as shown in the "Avengers: Age of Ultron."
Fans theorize that Radcliffe will be the new villain for Season 4. However, executive producer Jed Whedon describes that Radcliffe is a person with "good heart," The Hollywood Reporter reported.
"Radcliffe has a good heart, but he's willing to do anything for science," he said and added, "He thinks there's something beyond humans. What that will turn into, we'll have to wait and see."
The inclusion of LMDs for the show further complicates fan theories of whether or not a character is really dead or not. However, it could also provide a convenient scapegoat to keep or bring back actors on the show. It is not yet clear whether the LMD technology is being used for S.H.I.E.L.D unless Radcliffe is shown to be working within the organization next season.
For the uninitiated, Life Model Decoys (LMDs) are fictional androids that appear in Marvel universe. These are robots that duplicates all outward aspects of a living person. Aside from mimicking basic human attributes such as appearance, thought pattern, speech patterns, fingerprints, retina patterns and body language, a Life-Model Decoy also possesses various superhuman attributes.
"Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D" Season 4 premieres on Sept. 20, 2016.