Agent Coulson to 'headline' S.H.I.E.L.D. pilot - Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.

Coulson Lives!!! So happy:-)

Flashback? LMD? Zombie?

Vision?

That was a pretty safe bet, glad to see it's happening! Don't anyone get your hopes too high, It's also a safe bet that any scenes he is in take place prior to his confrontation with Loki in The Avengers. Or at least that his presence in them is a recording of some sort.

If he is ever to have a grand re-entrance, expect it to be in a movie.

Then again, who knows? :)

bobw1o | October 13, 13:17 CET

Posting from your phone sucks.

eddy | October 13, 13:23 CET

I like this news, it's exciting. And should get people chattering nicely.

"He's headlining the S.H.I.E.L.D. show and always was." said Whedon.

Would have loved to have seen that video. I hope Marvel release it.

Simon | October 13, 13:26 CET

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.

Oh god, they've created a monster!

Kaan | October 13, 13:37 CET

I'm going with Coulson "Lives" until otherwise proven wrong.

@theonetruebix | October 13, 13:44 CET

I was kind of hoping for this - obviously, I guess - so now I'm happy. Don't really care how it's done - although Vision does seem like the easy way to go - am just looking forward to it.

[ edited by skittledog on 2012-10-13 22:55 ]

skittledog | October 13, 13:54 CET

I think this casting makes me more happy than any other possible casting announcement within the realm of possibility. (i.e. no chance of Sam Jackson and/or Cobie or any of actual Avengers in long-term capacities.) In part since I'd still hold out hope that some Whedon alum would get the chance to be proper superheroes.

"First member cast" seemed initially to me to imply as a regular though, not necessarily just a one-off cameo.

orangewaxlion | October 13, 14:08 CET

I would guess he's the big name to get people tuning in for the premiere. If the show does go to series, I just can't seen him starring in every episode.

Simon | October 13, 14:19 CET

Training Videos.

MoonRose | October 13, 14:29 CET

How come, Simon? I mean, Clark Gregg is a TV veteran and he's been an anchor of all the previous Avengers universe films.

ETA: I just reread the article and didn't see any mention of the S.H.I.E.L.D. pilot, only the show. Even though it's likely ABC followed the rules and commissioned the pilot and didn't just give it an initial order of 13 episodes, I don't see anything to suggest that Coulson would only be part of the pilot.

[ edited by the ninja report on 2012-10-13 23:35 ]

the ninja report | October 13, 14:30 CET

I just think his character belongs to the movies and that's where we're see his character arc play out (assuming he's alive and not an LMD in SHIELD).

And the reason I'm referring to him being in the pilot is cause that's what Marvel.com is saying.

http://marvel.com/news/story/19553/nycc_2012_coulson_lives_in_marvels_shield.

Simon | October 13, 14:32 CET

I thought I was excited about S.H.I.E.L.D. before, but now my mind is blown! This is very exciting news, and I don't care how they do it.

embers | October 13, 14:36 CET

THIS MAKES ME SO BEYOND HAPPY, I CAN'T EVEN THINK RIGHT NOW. I KNEW THIS WAS GOING TO HAPPEN!!! :D

Coulson lives!!! :D

FangedFourLover | October 13, 14:43 CET

I've been expecting Clark Gregg's return.Just a gut feeling that proved right.

Buffyfantic | October 13, 14:51 CET

I think i would be upset if Coulson is alive after all. His death was at the center of some of the best scenes in the Avengers. Knowing that it was all an act or something will ruin the movie a little bit for me. It just seems like some bad last minute retcon because they want to have a familiar face headline S.H.I.E.L.D.

obillow | October 13, 14:54 CET

Am I the only one a little annoyed by this?
Hopefully Whedon will have something up his sleeve for us, like he only appears in flashbacks or the entire show is set before most of the films (which could be a very cool way not to show any superheroes).
But if it turns out Coulson just didn't die, like they got to him in time and faked his death so he could head up this super-secret off the grid team, that would feel so much like a cheat to me and cheapen the entire ending of the film.
I guess in Whedon I trust.

Kzap | October 13, 14:57 CET

I remember someone on another website noting that this is the Marvel universe we're dealing with, where the only person who apparently isn't resurrectable is Uncle Ben.

IcedPhoenix | October 13, 15:14 CET

I've been saying this since both "deaths", I truly believe that both Coulson and Wash are still alive. No doubt in my mind.

A_Leaf | October 13, 15:22 CET

Per the article in TV Line,

Though the way The Avengers ended raises questions about how the Coulson character could figure into a TV series, Whedon has said the pilot will be “autonomous” from the film franchise.

MacGuffin | October 13, 15:35 CET

Autonomous doesn't necessarily mean not in the same universe as. Could just means that they aren't going to be heavily invested in intermixing the two. (I thought the entire point was this was part of the cinematic universe.)

@theonetruebix | October 13, 15:50 CET

Who the hell is Vision? O_O

AnonymousAnimus | October 13, 15:58 CET

Yes, yes, yes!! Marvel universe! The Vision! Scarlet Witch! Alias! Runaways!

[ edited by Squishy on 2012-10-14 01:24 ]

[ edited by Squishy on 2012-10-14 01:24 ]

Squishy | October 13, 16:23 CET

In the interest of clarity, TVline's unsourced "autonomous" quote comes from a tweet Variety's Cynthia Littleton made in August: https://twitter.com/Variety_Cynthia/statuses/240672522352357376?

gossi | October 13, 16:42 CET

Uncle Ben lives on in his rice :)

The S.H.I.E.L.D. series could very well take place before the events of "The Avengers." Or Coulson's death could have been a fakeout by Fury to manipulate the team.

Shapenew | October 13, 16:55 CET

@shapenew I agree, unless Joss completely destroys the body or has an extended dead body scene, I always look for the fake out.

It always seemed like Coulsons death was similar to Cordelia's death in Buffy. The fact that Fury said he was dead before the medics even did anything, the scene cuts away before we see anything official, and we don't see the body for the rest of the movie always made me think that he wasn't dead. I've ha the same theory about Washs death for years.

A_Leaf | October 13, 17:34 CET

At the Much Ado screening, I told him I hoped he wasn't really dead. And he told me he hoped so too.

Happy for him. :)

redeem147 | October 13, 18:27 CET

That just means Joss can kill him twice. Like Darla!

hacksaway | October 13, 22:27 CET

S.H.I.E.L.D. is secretly Joss' zombie show. Remember when he was asked during SDCC what he'd do in a zombie movie and gave that really interesting answer about switching it up with people knowing there's a cure so you can't just kill 'em? SHIELD are all zombies! :D

D-e-f- | October 14, 00:34 CET

We saw Wash's body. It had a huge spear right through it. Dead. Deady dead dead dead. Accept. Otherwise it meant nothing and the film, Zoe's grief, and subsequent comics meant nothing.
And of course we saw Coulson speared right through (contrary to Disney's later claims and edits for some countries...)
Pretty sure S.H.I.E.L.D. don't have a cure for speared-right-through-the-chest-stopped-breathing. Joss states it fairly clearly in the commentary too that he is dead (as well as it not being his fault) and that Fury was shown to be the kind of person who had used the situation in a way that Maria Hill was uncomfortable with.

Setting it before the films (or training videos which was my personal theory too, a la Bennett in Dollhouse) would make for far less of a retcon to Pointlessville.

apollo11 | October 14, 03:25 CET

Too many possibilities. Speculating on what will happen will be like betting on the roulette wheel, which has been rigged by Joss ("zero... everyone loses!").

My vote is still: he was dead, and Fury thinks he is dead. The medics we see rushing in (but don't see in action) manage to bring him back, and the "Council" snuck him away (and "debriefed" in a jail cell for weeks) without informing anyone inside SHIELD. The pilot episode could explore a man who had his life taken away from him (figuratively and literally), with others thinking Coulson was deliberately deceiving them.

(Now I'm thinking of Astonishing X-Men, where they are on a mission for other reasons, when they find an unexpected prisoner on Ord's ship.)

[ edited by OneTeV on 2012-10-14 14:00 ]

OneTeV | October 14, 04:57 CET

The more I think about it the more it makes sense: no one dies in a comic book, ALL characters can (and most have) been brought back (almost like soap operas). So Fury lied (big surprise) and the medics were able to save him (maybe he'll even have some bionic parts... maybe not). Anyway, this isn't Buffy (where Joss believed in people staying dead but having appearances in flashbacks or being possessed by The First), and the same rules do not apply.

embers | October 14, 05:43 CET

An update from New York Comic Con to stir the pot...

http://www.ign.com/articles/2012/10/13/nycc-agent-coulson-is-the-lead-character-in-shield

Interesting...

Hera | October 14, 06:17 CET

Life Model Decoy. It's common (in the comic books) for high level shield agents to have robotic decoys mostly indistinguishable from their true selves.

So, possibly, either the movie Coulson was a LMD or the TV version will be a LMD leftover after his death.

jdn74 | October 14, 08:39 CET

My bet is that SHIELD takes place 1 or two years before the Avengers movie takes place. Perhaps as far back as the first Iron Man movie. If the tv show proves to be successful and last a number of years, this would give them a buffer so that the series isn't too far out from the timeline of the movie.

Matt_Fabb | October 14, 09:28 CET

I really hope it is not a prequel. I have a problem with prequels.

Squishy | October 15, 03:42 CET

I agree with Wash's death being final, but that's because that world is a lot more final. The MCU is a lot more silly and fantastical, and well, can you imagine the drama brought about by bringing someone back from the dead? I mean, you guys saw Buffy, right? Imagine how angry Tony would be at SHIELD. It's excellent stuff. Plus Coulson is a perfect lead for an ABC show, and I would love for Clark Gregg to have an hit show on his shoulders.

Jaymii | October 15, 05:21 CET

I never thought he was permenantly dead. Nevermind that people in the real world have survived being stabbed through the torso. We're dealing with an organization with the technology to build the helicarrier, whose medics arrived within seconds of Coulson's apparent demise. Add to the tech & timing that Fury is a master manipulator who needed a push to get his people to pull together. Card Tricks.

QingTing | October 15, 20:58 CET

October 13 2012