As soon as Kevin Feige confirmed that none of the previous Marvel TV shows were official canon, and the franchise’s small screen expansion would only begin when the roster of Disney Plus exclusives began rolling out, that instantly put Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. in a tricky position.
The show had always prided itself on taking place on the fringes of the movies, and the sheer number of cameos from various stars including Jaimie Alexander’s Sif, Hayley Atwell’s Peggy Carter, the entirety of the Howling Commandos and even Samuel L. Jackson’s Nick Fury made it abundantly clear that the series operated in the same narrative space as the franchise’s big budget blockbusters.
However, comic book shows can get away with just about anything when it comes to making huge leaps in logic, and Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. had hastily retconned those MCU connections by the end of the final season, putting it all down to some multiversal shenanigans. Chloe Bennet’s Daisy has frequently found herself linked with making the jump to the main timeline, and the finale presented the ideal opportunity to make it happen, but insider Daniel Richtman is now claiming that Clark Gregg’s longtime favorite Phil Coulson will be the one returning first.
The tipster doesn’t offer much in the way of further information on how exactly he’ll be making his way back into the franchise or where we’ll see him next, aside from saying he’ll show up in the present day MCU, but Coulson was a key part of Phase One right up until The Avengers wrote him out of the series and fans would no doubt love to see him return to the Marvel Cinematic Universe at some point, whatever route it takes to get him there.
