Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. star Clark Gregg recalled how the show became detached from the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
In an interview with Variety, Gregg discussed how his character Phil Coulson is finally a Life Model Decoy in the final season of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., after many fans speculated he would become one after his Avengers death. His explanation laid out how the show had to work around a divide between Marvel Studios and Marvel Television.
"You know, no one ever knew the show would go a 130-some episodes. It was never going to be like, this week Tony Stark is here!" Gregg said. "Then there was the division between Marvel TV and Marvel Cinematic on a corporate level. So the showrunners, Jed [Whedon] and Mo [Tancharoen] and Jeff Bell, had to really scour parts of the Marvel universe that weren't tied up with the incredibly elaborate plans of the cinematic [universe]. They ended up using all kinds of things: Inhumans, time travel, Ghost Rider, all these things that nobody is using, and many times to great effect. So it doesn't surprise me that at some point, like, 'Well, it's what everyone thought all along, and now he finally is one.'"
The next season of Agents won't just feature Coulson as an LMD. It will also see main characters like Daisy, Mack and Deke fighting off an alien invasion in the year 1931, as well as other time periods. These adventures are all part of an effort to ensure that the very existence of S.H.I.E.L.D. remains intact.
Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. will begin airing its final season May 27 on ABC. The series stars Ming-Na Wen, Chloe Bennet, Henry Simmons, Iain De Caestecker, Natalia Cordova-Buckley, Elizabeth Henstridge and Clark Gregg.