Ever since the first footage of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Season 6 released and revealed Clark Gregg seemingly playing an entirely different character than Coulson, theories have abounded about how this lookalike came about. One popular theory has been that Gregg’s new character is actually a Skrull taking the shape of Coulson. Well, CinemaBlend’s Nick Venable spoke to Clark Gregg at the winter TCA tour, and Gregg dropped some comments that may have debunked the Skrull theory. Here’s what he had to say:
There is somebody who looks an awful lot like me. An awful lot like Phil Coulson to these people. But he is not. It may be a little disturbing, what's about to go down… Some call him Agent Skrull-son. No, that's not true, that's not true. Different movie.
Clark Gregg already confirmed that he’s playing a different character than the Phil Coulson we’ve come to know and love; is it possible that he’s also willing to drop spoilers ruling out one major possibility for the Coulson lookalike? He was the one to bring up Skrulls, after all, and he goes on to say that the Skrulls will be part of a different project. Namely, Captain Marvel, which will see Gregg play Coulson again.
The movie is set in the 90s, so there’s no need for Coulson to be resurrected from what appears to be his off-season death on Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Viewers will see a past version of Coulson, as well as another unforgettable MCU character.
It’s no secret that Skrulls will have a huge role in Captain Marvel, so it was no surprise that the shapeshifting aliens were suggested as a reason why Clark Gregg’s new S.H.I.E.L.D. character seems to know nothing about S.H.I.E.L.D.’s very existence. There are some problems that would arise from Skrulls impersonating MCU characters, although S.H.I.E.L.D. would sidestep some of them by not having this new character try to pass himself of as Coulson.
But should we dismiss the Skrull theory from our speculation in the coming months while we wait for S.H.I.E.L.D.’s return? The reason why the Skrulls are finally debuting in the MCU indicates that they’re not going to be dealt with and then dismissed in the span of one movie, and Clark Gregg’s comments were pretty casually dropped. Could he have been joking, and a Skrull looking like Coulson is still possible for Season 6?
We’ll have to wait and see. Unfortunately, that wait is not going to end for quite a while still. S.H.I.E.L.D. will not return to the airwaves until the summer, after Avengers: Endgame and Captain Marvel have both hit theaters. In fact, depending on when in the summer S.H.I.E.L.D. returns, it could release after the next Spider-Man installment as well! At least we know that S.H.I.E.L.D. won’t be done after Season 6.
Only time will tell. For some television options while we wait for more of those Marvel 2019 (and beyond) shows, check out our midseason TV premiere schedule.
