NYCC 12: Marvel Announces Character Return For S.H.I.E.L.D. Show

*Minor Spoilers ahead If you are the only person on earth who hasn’t seen The Avengers*

During the Marvel Television panel at New York Comic-Con, the Head of Television for Marvel, Jeph Loeb, announced that late fan-favorite S.H.I.E.L.D. Agent, Phil Coulson (last seen being stabbed in the back by Loki), will live again! Backed by Clark Gregg himself, Marvel Studios head honcho Kevin Feige and director Joss Whedon appeared in a video where they confirmed that Gregg will surely reprise the role in the planned S.H.I.E.L.D. series with ABC.

“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.” Marvel producer Kevin Feige added that, “There was never going to be a ‘S.H.I.E.L.D.’ show without Agent Phil Coulson!” “He’s headlining the S.H.I.E.L.D. show and always was.” said Whedon.

This news comes as a surprise, considering all of the outlandish fan-made possibilities that’d allow Coulson’s revival, which Clark Gregg has modestly dismissed. It remains unclear how exactly Agent Phil Coulson will be revived, whether it’s as a life model decoy or if the series will be a prequel to the events of Marvel’s The Avengers.

Last month, Joss Whedon said the series will be adjacent to the Marvel cinematic universe, but is structured so that it deals with agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. who are “the humans in a superhero world and how they deal with that and how it makes them vulnerable.” Whedon penned the pilot with his brother, Jed Whedon & his wife Maurissa Tancharoen. And the trio will also executive produce the pilot with Jeffrey Bell and Marvel TV’s Jeph Loeb.