 In January 2013 , Cobie Smulders , who played agent Maria Hill in The Avengers , said that her character may make an appearance in the show and that her commitment to How I Met Your Mother would not prevent her from participating . Smulders reprised her role as Maria Hill in the pilot , with Joss Whedon saying , " I wanted very much to have Cobie in the pilot because as much as anyone else , she is S.H.I.E.L.D. She 's cool and commanding , and has the dry humor that plays so well with Clark 's . " Smulders returned once again in the role in the episode " Nothing Personal " . In June 2013 , Samuel L. Jackson expressed interest in guest starring as S.H.I.E.L.D. director Nick Fury , and subsequently appeared in the second episode " 0 @-@ 8 @-@ 4 " . Jackson makes a second appearance in the season finale . During the episode " The Well " , Chris Hemsworth appears as Thor via archival footage from Thor : The Dark World . Maximiliano Hernández , Titus Welliver , and Jaimie Alexander reprised their roles as Jasper Sitwell , Felix Blake , and Sif , respectively , from previous MCU films and Marvel One @-@ Shots during the season . 
