At last, fans’ prayers have been answered. After six years of being confined to the small screen, Clark Gregg is finally returning as Phil Coulson in an MCU movie. Rather than address the sticky issue of whether Earth’s Mightiest Heroes know about his resurrection in Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. though, after they saw him die in The Avengers, Coulson will make his long-awaited comeback in Captain Marvel, which is set in the 1990s.
While speaking to Entertainment Weekly, Gregg revealed some new details on how Coulson will be portrayed in Carol Danvers’ upcoming solo film. The longtime MCU star said that the S.H.I.E.L.D. agent will just be starting off at the organization and pointed out a clever connection that this new film could have with Coulson’s first appearance in the franchise: 2008’s Iron Man.
“So we’re seeing a version of Coulson that’s, what, 8,9, 10 years younger than we saw him in Iron Man. He’s a bit of a new guy in S.H.I.E.L.D. He’s a lot younger, that’s the main thing. It’s the earliest we will have seen him, so when he says, ‘Mr. Stark, this isn’t my first rodeo’ in Iron Man, this is maybe the rodeo he’s talking about.”
As fans will know, and Gregg reminds us here, Coulson serves as S.H.I.E.L.D. director Nick Fury’s righthand man in the Phase One movies, as he’s set to personally deal with both Iron Man and Thor, as well as shepherd the united six Avengers once they’re brought together. Perhaps his first experience with a superhero in Captain Marvel puts him in Fury’s good books, then, which is why he’s trusted with these important missions years later.
Speaking of Fury, Samuel L. Jackson is also joining Gregg in returning for Brie Larson’s first solo movie as Carol Danvers. Much like Coulson, Captain Marvel will likewise explore how Fury met his first superhero and, as Avengers: Infinity War revealed, he’ll still be in contact with Carol even decades later.
Gregg’s appearance in Captain Marvel actually works out well, too, seeing as Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. won’t return to ABC until next summer. At least fans of the character will be able to see him a little sooner, then.