Chatting recently with
Crave Online, 'Agent Phil Coulson' actor Clark Gregg, speaks somewhat revealingly on the fate of his role in
The Avengers, teases the superhero ensemble's alien invaders, and also dishes on his Marvel One-shots. Also further seemingly confirming returning for
Iron Man 3, read on below.

When you took the part [of S.H.I.E.L.D. Agent Coulson], did anyone know he was going to be an important character in the franchise?
When we were doing the panel for Thor at Comic Con, [and] right before we went on stage, Joss Whedon comes over and introduces himself, and says, “I wrote you a really big part in The Avengers, um… Can I introduce you as part of the cast of The Avengers, with Robert Downey, Jeremy Renner, Mark Ruffalo? Everyone’s here.” And I was like, “Yeah, I think that would be okay.” (Laughs) – So it’s just been a kind of like a weird, Make-A-Wish Foundation thing, where it seems so ludicrous every time it happens. I keep waiting for someone to show up and tell me that I have two weeks to live.
Do we get to see another side to your character in The Avengers? Do you get to take down a Skrull armada single-handed or something?
That’s it! I’m taking down the Skrull armada single-handed! I’m just kidding. “Skrull armada single-handed…” No, they’re Kree! No, I’m just kidding. Yes, there’s definitely new stuff. Much different, new stuff for Agent Coulson to do in this one. You know, it’s kind of “all hands on deck” in terms of combating the threat that has shown up. And Joss… Joss is a master at taking what we know about each one of these characters, the superheroes and Agent Coulson, and building on what’s already there.
Joss Whedon is also a master of killing off beloved characters. I’m actually a little worried about you.
Yeah, I’ve read this! I’ve read this. I’m flattered that people care, but I wish they would stop saying this because they’re going to put it in somebody’s mind! I’m talking to them about doing Iron Man 3 right now, and somebody’s going “Maybe Agent Coulson should die,” and I’m like, “Hey, hey, hey! This is the best job I’ve ever had! Stop talking about killing Agent Coulson off.”
Fair enough.
No, no, no. I talked to Joss Whedon early on. I said “Hey, why is everyone saying this?” And he said, “Yeah, I’ve done that before. Don’t worry. You’re safe.”
Can you talk about Marvel One Shots
Well, you know, I think they wanted to… It’s an idea they were playing with, the idea of doing these shorts. They’ve got people over there, all the time, trying to… “What else can we do, that you just don’t see done very often?” And this is one of the things that they wanted to try, and I don’t really know how much of it was originally about filling in some of that kind of gaps in the storyline, or the timeline of these movies. But certainly once they went into script form it really, clearly, became a big part of why they wanted to do it.
What kind of funny things happen on the way to Thor’s hammer?
Oh… That’s right, there’s the other one! I think there’s a little bit of excitement that goes on, and I think maybe it requires Coulson to show yet another side of his persona, which is that he’s a little bit of a badass.
Marvel's The Avengers picks up when an unexpected enemy emerges that threatens global safety and security. And Nick Fury, director of the international peacekeeping agency known as S.H.I.E.L.D., finds himself in need of a team to pull the world back from the brink of disaster. With director Joss Whedon at it's helm, and an ensemble cast including Chris Evans
(Steve Rogers), Robert Downey Jr.
(Tony Stark), Chris Hemsworth
(Thor Odinson), Jeremy Renner
(Clint Barton), Mark Ruffalo
(Bruce Banner), Scarlett Johansson
(Natasha Romanoff), Clark Gregg
(Agt. Phil Coulson), Cobie Smulders
(Maria Hill), Samuel L. Jackson
(Nick Fury), with Tom Hiddleston
(Loki Laufeyson), and Stellan Skarsgard
(Professor Erik Selvig), the film releases worldwide May 4, 2012!