Clark Gregg will expand his role on Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. in season 5 for at least one episode, when he steps behind the camera to serve as director. Gregg as Agent Phil Coulson has been a staple in the Marvel Cinematic Universe since day one, making his death in The Avengers that much more meaningful for fans. However, no one was ready for Coulson to leave after that and the #CoulsonLives movement online helped to bring him back via his own ABC TV series. Over four seasons, Coulson and his friends have traveled a bumpy road, starting when S.H.I.E.L.D. fell to Hydra and was then reborn under his supervision in secret, only to be brought back into the public eye with him taking a backseat.
As the show has progressed however, Chloe Bennet's Daisy Johnson has truly become the focal point for Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.. Coulson is still very much involved, of course, and Gregg remains a great and instrumental part of the show. With so much unknown about where season 5 will take any of the series' characters (Coulson included), it's all the more interesting to learn that Gregg
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Gregg was asked on Twitter if he planned to direct an episode of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. and his response confirmed it will happen in season 5. Gregg stated that he begins directing an episode this week. Although this will be his first dive into directing on TV, Gregg has already helmed a pair of feature-length films in the forms of Choke and Trust Me (both of which he also wrote).
Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. started filming season 5 on July 20th, putting the show already eight weeks into production. The typical production schedule for TV is roughly a week per episode, giving Gregg the opportunity to direct either episode 8 or 9 of the season. Since S.H.I.E.L.D. is not expected to have any breaks during its season 5 run, this episode would typically be building towards the mid-season finale. Even though a break may not be in place, the mid-season twist/reveal should be there and this could give Gregg a busy and important episode to helm.
Not only does Gregg's previous directing efforts make him a suitable choice to jump on the director's chair for an episode, but this is also a fairly common practice for veteran actors. Tom Cavanagh on The Flash directed an episode in season 3 (and is set to do so again in season 4), while Bryan Cranston directed an episode of Breaking Bad, Amy Poehler directed multiple episodes of Parks and Recreation, Steve Carrell did the same on The Office - and so on and so forth. With many anticipating season 5 will be the last for S.H.I.E.L.D., it is great to see Gregg get his shot now.
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Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. season 5 premieres after Inhumans wraps up its first season on ABC, on Fridays at 9pm.
Source: Clark Gregg