Joss Whedon recently announced that his S.H.I.E.L.D. TV show would be comprised of a cast of all-new characters, but at least one familiar face will be dropping in in the shape of Clark Gregg’s Agent Coulson.
Coulson has been confirmed as appearing in the pilot episode of the show, with Kevin Feige revealing that both character and actor are firm favourites over at Marvel.
“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,” says Feige. “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.”
Meanwhile, Joss Whedon was similarly enthusiastic about the character’s return. “We all love Clark Gregg, there’s no doubt about that,” said Whedon. “He’s headlining the S.H.I.E.L.D. show and always was.”
How big a role he will continue to play remains to be seen (will the show be set before The Avengers , in order to keep him hanging around?), but we can at least be sure of one more outing for S.H.I.E.L.D.’s nerdiest agent.