Cobie Smulders

No less a source than Cobie Smulders – S.H.I.E.L.D. Agent Maria Hill – is sharing some inside information on next year’s Captain America: The Winter Soldier and the possibility that we’ll see the character in action on the S.H.I.E.L.D. television series.

Best known for starring as scotch-drinking Canadian pistol Robin Scherbatsky for eight seasons on the popular CBS sitcom How I Met Your Mother, Smulders joined the Marvel Studios cinematic universe last summer with The Avengers. The actress also plays a major role in Relativity Media’s Safe Haven, which stars Julianne Hough (Rock of Ages) and Josh Duhamel (Transformers).

In an exclusive interview with IAR Managing Editor Jami Philbrick regarding the Nicholas Sparks adaptation, Smulders took the time to address her ongoing role as Maria Hill. Check back closer to Safe Haven’s February February 14th theatrical release for the full interview. For now though, check out her insights on Hill’s role in the Marvel universe.

While this year’s Iron Man 3 and Thor: The Dark World are expected to be more insular, 2014’s Captain America: The Winter Soldier will reunite much of the supporting cast from last summer’s superhero team up. Smulders will appear alongside her fellow The Avengers actors Chris Evans (Puncture), Samuel L. Jackson (Django Unchained), and Scarlett Johansson (Hitchcock), along with new additions Anthony Mackie (Gangster Squad) and Frank Grillo (The Grey). They’re joined by Captain America: The First Avengers players Toby Jones and Sebastian Stan, reprising their respective roles as HYDRA scientist Armin Zola and Bucky Barnes-turned-titular-amnesiac assassin.

Principal photography is scheduled to being this March under the direction of sibling duo Anthony Russo and Joe Russo (NBC’s Community). As for when she will join the production, Smulders said, "I don’t know the exact dates. I know it’s some time in March or June."

Though she’s eager to play Hill again, Smulders revealed that she has not yet seen a full script for the Captain America sequel, saying, "I’ve seen parts of it, but yeah I don’t know much. This is Marvel! They don’t let you know anything."

"It’s very watermarked scripts, heavily watermarked," She explained of the measures taken by Marvel Studios to present any screenplay pages from leaking. "Yeah, they don’t let you know like the day of, but they are very secretive and I think they are still figuring stuff out."

Joss Whedon is set to return as both director and writer for The Avengers 2, hitting theaters in the summer of 2014. At the moment, however, Whedon is directing the pilot episode of a S.H.I.E.L.D. television series for ABC. The series features an ensemble cast that includes Clark Gregg, reprising his Marvel role as Agent Phil Coulson.

Since the S.H.I.E.L.D. series is set within the cinematic continuity and Maria Hill is such a indispensable member of the eponymous espionage agency in The Avengers, can we expect her to appear on S.H.I.E.L.D. in some capacity? "The commitments to [How I Met Your Mother] don’t affect it," Smulders said. "And I can’t really say but there are definite talks about it."

Regardless of whether or not Maria Hill shows up on S.H.I.E.L.D., Cobie Smulders is now a part of the Marvel Studios continuity, and with the cross-pollination of franchises, Hill may very well be a part of various Marvel features over the next several years. The actress was thrilled by the possibility, saying, "Oh yeah! I’m very excited. I will do Maria Hill until they fire me and hire someone else to do it."

Captain America: The Winter Soldier is scheduled for nationwide release on April 4, 2014.