Avengers: Infinity War Director Plays Coy About Phil Coulson’s Return

It’s been well-publicized that Avengers: Infinity War will feature practically every hero that’s part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe to date, but even on top of all those characters, we’re still expecting some surprise cameos as well. One that fans would love to happen would be S.H.I.E.L.D. agent Phil Coulson, who hasn’t been seen on the big screen since back in 2012’s The Avengers.

But could this be a possibility? Well, new evidence suggests so, as Infinity War co-director Anthony Russo gave an intriguing response when asked about Coulson at this weekend’s press junket.

As relayed by Buzzfeed’s Adam B. Vary on his Twitter page, Russo was asked about the chances of Coulson returning in Infinity War. At first, he joked that he’d like to talk about bass fishing, continuing a joke Chris Pratt had made earlier to get out of a potentially spoiler-y question. Then, he gave this coy reply:

“Well we thought about everybody in the MCU, and how they could play a role in the story.”

This really could be nothing at all, but for years fans have been hearing the same old excuse that it’s hard to coordinate between Marvel Studios and Marvel Television, so Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.‘s cast members wouldn’t be able to crossover to the movies. This is a rare example of the filmmakers not ruling out the possibility, however, so we’re taking it as a sign that it might be on the cards.

It’s also worth bearing in mind that Marvel Television’s Jeph Loeb recently teased that an answer is coming to the question of whether the Avengers know that Coulson’s really alive, after he was resurrected on TV. He promised that it would be “resolved” in a “very surprising way,” and an appearance in Infinity War could definitely be described as surprising, wouldn’t you say?

A return to the movies would also set up Clark Gregg’s appearance in 2019’s Captain Marvel, which will likely introduce us to a younger Phil Coulson from the 1990s, as that’s when Carol Danvers’ standalone film is set.

Be sure to catch Avengers: Infinity War in cinemas this Friday, April 27th.