Marvel’s ‘Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.’ Update: Will Coulson Stay Dead if ABC Passes?

Even without a shred of promotional material or preview clips, we remain fairly certain Marvel's 'Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.' pilot will move forward with a full-season pickup at ABC. The network would very likely have a gold mine with a Joss Whedon-produced series tying into the blockbuster Marvel Cinematic universe, but what if ABC ultimately decides to pull the plug? Coulson himself, Clark Gregg talks about Phil's future beyond 'Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.' inside!

It would seem ludicrous for ABC to pass on the Joss Whedon-directed 'Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.,' pilot, for all its massive buzz and potential tie-in with the blockbuster movie franchise most imminently continuing with 'Iron Man 3.' Even worse, Clark Gregg recently told Crave Online that ABC potentially passing on the series could re-seal Agent Coulson's fate within the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Asked about the possibility of 'Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.' proving a one-off, Gregg said:

I don’t know. They haven’t told me. Honestly, they haven’t told me the answer yet. I certainly would be sad if it didn’t because I have a feeling it would mean that Coulson didn’t live anymore. But yeah, I think we made a good pilot. Joss knows what he’s doing, and other writers, his brother Jed and Jed’s wife Maurissa are amazing. I think we’ve got a shot.

Marvel’s ‘Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.’ TV series features a cast that includes Clark Gregg’s resurrected Agent Phil Coulson, as well as Whedon vet J. August Richards,  ‘ER’ doc Ming-Na, Chloe Bennet, Brett Dalton, Elizabeth Henstridge and Iain De Caestecker as the other agents of the team. Nick Fury himself, Samuel L. Jackson previously stated that he expected to be involved in some small capacity, while ‘How I Met Your Mother‘ and ‘The Avengers‘ star Cobie Smulders remains open to the possibility as well.

We'll learn more about ABC's investment in the 'Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D'. series within the next month, but what say you? Could a pass from ABC mean that Coulson wouldn't return for the films either? How would you like to see Coulson resurrected?