Will there be a S.H.I.E.L.D. movie after The Avengers? Sam Jackson says yes.

Coming courtesy of an interview over at Radio Big Boy, this news shouldn’t come as a surprise when you take into account that Samuel L. Jackson is signed to like a 900-picture deal with Marvel (okay, it’s really only 9, but shit). The coming of a S.H.I.E.L.D. movie, especially with its heavy presence in IRON MAN 2, was really only a matter of time.

Here’s Jackson’s quote: “The Avengers should start shooting some time next year, and then some time after that there’ll be a big S.H.I.E.L.D. movie.”

Of course, anything could happen between now and THE AVENGERS. Should the whole cross-film experiment be a monetary bust (keep in mind that only the IRON MAN films have so far been runaway successes), I’d think the likelihood of a S.H.I.E.L.D. film would drop dramatically. But should THOR, CAPTAIN AMERICA, and THE AVENGERS do decent-to-good business, then bet on it.

But assuming all goes well, the questions would be: What would a S.H.I.E.L.D. film be all about? Would it be more of a political/espionage thriller to contrast against the action-adventure nature of its sister films? Will we see cameos from other parts of the Marvel universe? Will ScarJo and her butt be prevalent once more?

Speculate away, guys!