What If: Clark Gregg Talks Coulson’s Return and Potential MCU Future

The third episode of Marvel's What If...? was released on Disney+ today and asks the question, [...]

The third episode of Marvel's What If...? was released on Disney+ today and asks the question, "What If... the World Lost Its Mightiest Heroes?" The episode featured the voices of many big Marvel stars, including Samuel L. Jackson (Nick Fury), Jeremy Renner (Hawkeye), Mark Ruffalo (Bruce Banner), Tom Hiddleston (Loki), and more. Another familiar voice fans were especially excited to hear this week was that of Clark Gregg as Phil Coulson. Gregg first appeared in the MCU in Iron Man back in 2008 and his death in The Avengers led to him starring in Agents of SHIELD, which came to an end last year. Gregg was last seen as Coulson on the big screen in 2019's Captain Marvel. In honor of his return for What If, Gregg recently spoke to Entertainment Weekly about playing Coulson again and addressed his potential future with the franchise.

"It was before COVID, kind of late fall," Gregg revealed when asked when he found out about his return. "They called and gave me the script, and I went, 'Oh, wow. Okay, this is going to be really cool.' [Laughs] I had a blast doing it, and since then, there's been an awful lot of chatter about what's canon and what's real and what's the MCU and what's not. It's really weird because there's so much multiverse, and actually, we did multiverse stuff on Agents of SHIELD, so I'm mostly confused, but I have a feeling people are really going to like this episode."

"It's not just a platitude — honestly, I felt pretty grateful at the end of The Avengers, even though it didn't turn out so well for my guy. And then the calls just kept on coming: Agents of SHIELD and then another season, another season... seven seasons. And then Captain Marvel and then What If...? and oh my gosh — I don't know how much I'm allowed to say but to enjoy familiar faces, it's nice to see them. Things didn't work out so well for some of them in this particular universe. So I'm really grateful for what we've had — who's we? Me and my character. Oh my gosh, I've lost it. It's finally happened. [Laughs] I snapped. Anytime they call, and they've come up with some other way for him to be back involved, I'm thrilled. And I have to say, having kind of been first commandos through the door trying to bring this world to something like television, it's really a thrill to watch Loki and WandaVision and Falcon and Winter Soldier, just to see old friends and people I've worked with for years doing these beautiful, expanded universes on TV."

"I'm so grateful for just the chance to show up every once in a while to do this stuff," Gregg replied when asked about Coulson's future. "I can't wait to see The Eternals; I can't wait to see Shang-Chi. I just love the way they're expanding [the MCU]. If there's ever a moment when me or my alter ego can be of use and participate in any of that, I would be thrilled but right now I'm just enjoying it as a fan."

Did you enjoy Coulson's return in the latest episode of What If? Tell us in the comments!

Marvel's What If...? releases new episodes on Wednesdays. If you haven't signed up for Disney+ yet, you can try it out here.

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