In the early days of the Marvel movie universe, Clark Gregg's Agent Coulson was the glue tying all of the films together. It all culminated with 'The Avengers,' where his links to each team member helped drive the story and connect each hero together. However, with the Marvel movies now sustaining themselves, he's become a luxury, not a requirement: everyone's favorite government official will not be in 'The Avengers 2,' now titled 'Age of Ultron.'

Despite his apparent death in the super-team flick, ABC revived the character for their Marvel TV series, 'Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.' So Superhero Hype sat down with writer/director Joss Whedon and asked if Coulson would return for 'Age of Ultron,' to which he stated:

"He could. Right now it's not something I'm pursuing because I have so much going on in 'Avengers 2.' Finding out that Coulson is alive would be an entire B story. And I already have too much movie. That's better than the other thing."

Although the complementary TV series was said to tie in with the Marvel cinematic universe, Whedon also emphasized that these properties won't crossover too much:

"...we need to make sure there's some crossover but not so much that people go, 'Well, I don't need to see that movie. I saw it on TV.' If we do that (Marvel Studios President) Kevin Feige is going to come after me with a pitchfork."

'Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.' premieres on ABC on Sep. 24. 'The Avengers 2,' now titled 'Age of Ultron,' will arrive on May 1, 2015.

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