The case of Phil Coulson is a curious one, with Clark Gregg becoming one of the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s most popular cult figures, and close to a decade after being killed off in the main timeline he’s still capable of drawing a reaction from longtime fans of the franchise, as the first episode of Loki proved once again by revisiting his death.
Originally created for Iron Man as a bit-part player tasked with little more than delivering dry exposition, Coulson went on to became a firm favorite among MCU supporters and was the catalyst for bringing the Avengers together to defeat Loki in their first ensemble outing. He then headlined all seven seasons of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. and was even integrated into official Marvel Comics canon, before rejoining the cinematic fray in Captain Marvel‘s 1990s scenes as a rookie operative.
In a new interview, Loki creator and writer Michael Waldron was asked if seeing Coulson’s fate unfold once more in the Disney Plus exclusive would lead to a further exploration of either the Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. timeline or serve as a teaser for another comeback, and his response was neither a confirmation or a denial.
“Look, that is one other tendril of the multiverse, perhaps. I think just seeing mention of Coulson again, the very fact that it raises those questions, is exciting.”
Coulson is regularly linked with returning to the canonical MCU, especially when talks of an Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. reboot or revival have made the rounds in recent months, coupled with the show being moved to the Marvel Legacy section of Disney Plus and thus eliminating it from the timeline where the feature films and Disney Plus shows take place.
As much as fans would love to see it, the jury remains out on whether or not it’ll happen, but one episode into Loki and we already know that nothing can be definitively taken off the table when it comes to the entire multiverse.