Wondering where SHIELD agent Phil Coulson (Clark Gregg) was in Avengers: Age of Ultron? Writer-director Joss Whedon has explained it for us...

You may remember that Coulson was seemingly killed off by Loki in the first Avengers film, only to be resurrected for the television spinoff Agents of SHIELD.


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Whedon recently told Buzzfeed that he never actually considered having Coulson come face-to-face with the Avengers in Age of Ultron.

"As far as I'm concerned, in this movie, Coulson's dead," he explained "If you come back in the sequel and say Coulson's alive, it's like putting f**king John Gielgud in the sequel to Arthur.

"It mattered that he's gone. It's a different world now. And you have to run with that."

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However, the Avengers could soon learn the truth about Coulson if Agents of SHIELD star Clark Gregg has his way.

Gregg personally invited the cast of Avengers: Age of Ultron onto his ABC series during a surprise appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live last week.

Avengers: Age of Ultron is released in the UK on April 24, the US on May 1.

Watch Digital Spy recap the best Marvel movie Easter eggs below:

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Justin is a freelance entertainment journalist and writer. He first joined Digital Spy as a freelance entertainment reporter in 2010 and also worked as a sub-editor for the brand, serving as Night News Editor from 2016 to 2024. Over more than a decade, Justin has covered numerous major entertainment events from the US and has interviewed a wide-ranging group of public figures, from comedian Steve Coogan to icons from the Star Trek universe, cast members from the Marvel Cinematic Universe and reality stars from numerous Real Housewives cities and the Below Deck franchise. Justin has also been on the ground to cover major pop culture events like the Star Wars Celebration and the D23 Expo. He's written for titles across the Hearst network, plus the likes of CBR and Us Weekly.