The film is directed by Louis D'Esposito from a screenplay by Eric Pearson, and stars Hayley Atwell as Peggy Carter, along with Bradley Whitford and Dominic Cooper.

A Marvel One-Shot featuring Peggy Carter was in the works for some time before Atwell signed on to star in it, reprising her role from the Captain America films.

D'Esposito, co-president of Marvel Studios and an executive producer on the feature films, aimed to replicate the period setting of Captain America: The First Avenger, while also giving the short a more modern, superhero feel.

This response led to ABC ordering a television series expansion of the short, Agent Carter, which aired from January 2015 to March 2016, over two seasons.

The next day, Flynn reprimands her for not going through the proper procedures to complete the mission, and dismisses the indignant Carter as just an "old flame" of Captain America's who was given her current job out of pity for her bereavement.

However, before he can officially punish her, the case line rings again, this time with Howard Stark on the other end, who informs Flynn that Carter will co-head the newly created S.H.I.E.L.D.

[1] Co-producer Brad Winderbaum said "It's a fun way to experiment with new characters and ideas, but more importantly it's a way for us to expand the Marvel Cinematic Universe and tell stories that live outside the plot of our features.

The idea was looked at again when Marvel was deciding on a short film to produce for the home media release of Iron Man 3 in 2013, and it was chosen for the spot, dependent on actress Hayley Atwell's availability.

The budget did not allow for a storyboard artist to be hired, so D'Esposito, Winderbaum, and Beristain worked together to plan a shot list for the production using stand-in actors.

[2] D'Esposito chose to differentiate the short from The First Avenger by avoiding the sepia tone used for that film by director Joe Johnston, instead using a cooler blue color.

[15] After being available on Disney+ under the "Extras" tab of Iron Man 3, the short was given its own listing on the streaming service for the last two weeks of September 2021, and then was removed for unspecified reasons.

[3] Andy Hunsaker at CraveOnline gave the short a score of 8.5 out of 10, calling it a fun treat that "gives its title character the send-off she deserves", and hoping that it would lead to further female-focused properties from Marvel.

[26] Dominic Cooper and Neal McDonough also reprised their role of Stark and Dugan in the series,[27][28] while D'Esposito directed the first episode,[29] and Christopher Lennertz returned to compose the music.

[30] The series was created by Christopher Markus & Stephen McFeely, writers on the Captain America films, with Tara Butters, Michele Fazekas, and Chris Dingess serving as showrunners.

[31] The series takes place in the middle of the short, before Carter learns that she will be co-head of S.H.I.E.L.D.,[32] where she secretly assists Stark with a mission, unbeknownst to the SSR.