Through Phase 1 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Clark Gregg's Agent Phil Coulson served as one of the main connective threads between the movies due to his work with S.H.I.E.L.D. After being introduced in Iron Man and returning for Iron Man 2 and Thor, Coulson made his last movie appearance in The Avengers, where he helped bring the team together, but was later killed by Loki. However, as most of you already know, Coulson was resurrected for ABC's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., but over the years, fans have wondered if Coulson will ever return to the movies corner of this continually-expanding franchise. Well, according to Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. executive producer and Marvel head of TV Jeph Loeb, it's sounds like we may soon be coming to a point where Coulson will reunite with Earth's Mightiest Heroes, as he said:
It's certainly something that will get resolved, and it may get resolved in a very surprising way.
It's almost been six full years since Phil Coulson met his temporary demise in The Avengers, and while the agent was soon brought back to life and has had numerous small screen adventures since then (tonight marks Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s 100th episode), he hasn't been mention once in the movies. As far as the Avengers are concerned, Coulson is still deader than disco. With Avengers: Infinity War bringing together so many heroes to battle Thanos, it would be cool if Coulson made a cameo, but even if such an appearance isn't in the cards, Jephs Loeb's comment to EW suggests that one way or another, the lingering plot thread will be addressed. Maybe this will be through the character appearing in a different movie, or maybe he'll just be referenced/mentioned. As for Clark Gregg, he's fine with with Avengers not yet being clued in that Coulson's alive. The actor said:
When they feel like it's time to start connecting any of these worlds, they will. I feel like I'll hear from them then, but in the meantime, I have my hands full trying to do a good job on [S.H.I.E.L.D.]
Certain MCU movies have definitely factored into Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s past seasons, and characters like Nick Fury and Lady Sif even popped in for an episode or two, but Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. itself has never influenced the movies. For instance, in the aftermath of Captain America: The Winter Soldier, while S.H.I.E.L.D. is still running about in the MCU's TV realm, as far as the movies are concerned, the spy organization is gone for good. Much of this has to do with how the MCU's movie and TV divisions are being run separately, but with Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s Season 5 finale potentially doubling as a series finale, perhaps we'll come to a point where Phil Coulson can return to the movies without their being any issues on the TV side of things.
Avengers: Infinity War opens in theaters on April 27, and you can catch Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Fridays at 9 p.m. EST/PST on ABC.
