British actress Elizabeth Henstridge is set to join Joss Whedon and Marvel Entertainment’s eagerly anticipated ABC series “S.H.I.E.L.D.” The show is based on the secret military agency run by Nick Fury in the Marvel Comics Universe.

According to THR, Henstridge will play science Agent Gemma Simmons, a science expert with the team. She joins Ming-Na Wen as weapons expert Melinda May, Iain De Caestecker as tech-guru Leo Fitz and The Avengers’ Clark Gregg reprising his role as Agent Phil Coulson.

Whedon will direct the “S.H.I.E.L.D” pilot from a script co-written by Whedon, his brother Jed Whedon and Jed’s wife Maurissa Tancharoen. If picked up to series, the show will premiere in the fall of 2013 and be cancelled one season or two later as is the case with most Whedon programs not centered on vampires (kidding! This ain’t FOX).