With reporting by Christina Garibaldi
We’ve already talked to the producers of “Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.” about the game-changing season finale, and speculated about what might happen in season two. But why settle for mere speculation when you can go to the man himself for answers?
So that’s exactly what we did, tracking down Clark Gregg, who plays Agent Phil Coulson on the show at the ABC Upfront. From here on out, major spoilers for the season finale, so be warned.
As we close out the season, Coulson has turned out to be fine despite his resurrection-inducing alien blood infusion, gotten the keys to S.H.I.E.L.D. from none other than Nick Fury himself and even made his way to a new secret home base.
But all is not well in the land of Coulson. The Agent sleepwalks to a storage level of his base and starts scratching symbols all over the wall. They’re symbols we’ve seen before in the show, similarly jotted out in an unconscious state by others who have received this alien blood. So what can Gregg tell us about drawing these symbols?
“He does? But that was Coulson when he was unconscious, so I don’t really know about that,” Gregg joked, before relenting for some more serious info. “I hear, Agent Coulson, in another alternate state is inscribing alien hieroglyphics, probably because of the alien blood that now pumps through his veins. The ramifications of that… They can’t be good.”
After Gregg tried to (hilariously) speak the symbols out loud, he did reverse his statement, suggesting that the hypnotic state Coulson finds himself in may not be all bad.
“Who knows what that means he’s becoming?” Gregg added. “But he’s becoming something.”
That aside, what about the other big status quo change for Coulson? He’s taking on rebuilding S.H.I.E.L.D. after the climactic events of “Captain America: The Winter Soldier;” but it seems like it won’t be an easy job, even for the world’s foremost super-spy.
“I know from having seen the finale, he’s got a very special new job that’s given to him, in the wake of the end of the season,” Gregg said. “And that job is more than anyone I know could handle, especially if they’re waking up in the middle of the night and writing in alien.”
We also asked Gregg about possible upcoming crossovers, and though we ended up firmly in the land of speculation, the possibilities are endless. The start, though, with the newly picked up “Marvel’s Agent Carter,” which will be airing during the break in schedule for “Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.” So will we see star Hayley Atwell mixing it up with Gregg and crew?
“Tricky because she’s in the ’40s,” Gregg said on the possibility. “Personally, I’m a big fan of Hayley Atwell, and that short, and the first ‘Captain America’ movie. I’m praying for a little time travel episode so we get to interact.”
Beyond TV, though, Gregg has set his sights even higher, hoping for even more cinematic crossover in the coming year.
“I’d love to, at some point, have Coulson be able to set the record straight about his death with The Avengers,” Gregg continued. “I’m really excited about the ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’ movie, and I’m really hoping that we get a visit from Star-Lord.”
Hm, there couldn’t be any sort of tie-in with that alien language thing, could there?
We’ll certainly find out more when “Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.” returns to ABC in the Fall.
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