Hayley Atwell has opened up about starring in the first female-fronted Marvel project, the TV series Agent Carter, saying it is a "real thrill".
The actress reprises her Captain America Peggy Carter role for the show, which debuts on ABC in the US tonight.
She told The Hollywood Reporter: "It's a great time to be able to say to audiences and to Hollywood alike: Women are bankable. They want to be at the forefront. They are watchable, and audiences want them, and Hollywood should want to make female-centred projects.
"I feel like the last 10 years of TV has created really strong and fascinating women. Women who aren't the damsel in distress or the ingenue or the bitch or the mother-in-law. They are a lot more interesting and complex. I hope that Peggy is seen in that category of leading a show, but also showing her flaws and showing much more relatable qualities."
Atwell added that she would like to play the character for years to come, saying: "We learned from Captain America 2 that she's married and that she's had children. We haven't seen that, either.
"I'm jumping the gun, because I love working on the show so much that I really hope we carry on. That's up to the audience and Marvel to decide. If we did, that would be a very exciting thing to explore."
Check out some stills from ABC's Agent Carter below.
