Perhaps the most disappointing part of THE AVENGERS movie was the death of Agent Phil Coulson. The beloved and fiesty S.H.I.E.L.D. agent who began appearing in the Marvel Phase One films from the get-go, with IRON MAN and then again in THOR, leading directly to this past summer’s THE AVENGERS, became a staple to the series of films and was the championed underdog until his fate was sealed with the tip of Loki’s spear.
Or not. Today, at NYCC, actor Clark Gregg, who portrays Coulson, was brought on stage to join Jeph Loeb during the Marvel TV panel, and after a short “memorial” video was played, the video screen suddenly shifted to Whedon, who announced that Gregg’s Agent Coulson was, in fact, still alive, and made the official announcement that Agent Coulson will lead the new S.H.I.E.L.D. TV show.
“We all love Clark Gregg, there’s no doubt about that,” Whedon said. “From before we made ‘The Avengers,’ we discussed whether there was a way for him to be a part of the Marvel Universe, perhaps a part of a TV show even after his death. … The fact of the matter is, as much as we love him, now that I’m really running Marvel, I like to keep a type of artistic integrity, which means we don’t stretch the bounds of reality.”
“There was never going to be a ‘S.H.I.E.L.D.’ show without Agent Phil Coulson!” said Kevin Feige, Marvel Studios producer extraordinaire, who appeared behind Whedon, wearing a COULSON LIVES shirt.
“He’s headlining the S.H.I.E.L.D. show and always was.” said Whedon.
“I grew up loving comics,” said, Gregg. “One of the greatest things about it is that I got to connect with people like you, so thank you for being apart of it.”
Agent Coulson lives, indeed.