We all saw Clark Gregg's Agent Phil Coulson die a heroic death in 'The Avengers,' so we're still not quite sure how he's part of the cast for ABC's upcoming 'Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.' The fact that everyone involved has remained tight-lipped about suggests that there's a greater mystery at work here and Mr. Gregg himself has all but confirmed this himself.

Speaking with Screen Rant from the Tribeca Film Festival (where his second directorial effort, 'Trust Me,' is playing), the beloved character actor and Marvel Universe fixture spoke at length about his role in the new Marvel show, all without actually, you know, saying much of anything. He did let us know that Agent Coulson is a changed man following the events of 'The Avengers' though:

“I don’t know how you could not change going through what he went through. I think if he hadn’t gone through some kind of change, it wouldn’t be any good. That said, I don’t know if he understands how much he’s changed.”

As for the mystery surrounding Coulson's death and resurrection, Gregg confirmed that yes, there is definitely a mystery surrounding his return from the grave...and that it was one of the key things that sold him on the show in the first place:

"When Joss described to me the mystery…and the complexity and the unanswered questions about Phil Coulson standing there trying to deal with this, I found it so fascinating and so true to the world of the comics and mythology in general as I understand them that I was immediately in.”

And since 'Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.' and the Marvel movies take place in the same universe, Gregg suggested that certain aspects of the show could very well bounce back and have an impact in the films. Namely, the fact that the Avengers may have been lied to when it comes to Coulson's apparent demise:

It would be surprising to me if this was a world where there wasn’t some reckoning for the fact that it’d be … you know, some level of deception must have been perpetrated on the Avengers.”

'Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.' is expected to premiere on ABC sometime this Fall.

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