Three months ago, ABC officially greenlit Joss Whedon’s Marvel pilot ‘S.H.I.E.L.D.’, which would center on the peacekeeping force featured in the Marvel Cinematic Universe led by Nick Fury and Maria Hill. Since then, the show has been building it’s cast, but at New York Comic Con in October, the biggest casting news came when it was revealed that Agent Phil Coulson would be appearing in the show. The news was met with uproarious applause, as many fans that thought they’d never see him again after ‘The Avengers’. Now, the overlord of Marvel movies comments on the decision to bring back the beloved character in his show.

According to Comic Book Movie, Whedon shared a cryptic message about Coulson at a recent Q&A event. But first, he made sure to reiterate that it wasn’t his idea to off the character in the first place, despite his reputation:

“Coulson’s death was mandated in the first meeting by Kevin Feige. I can’t say that enough times. Apparently I have some kind of reputation that we won’t discuss right now, but I do love to kill people.”

He went on to shed some light on why everyone’s favorite S.H.I.E.L.D. agent is making a comeback:

“Clark himself said when we were shooting that it was obvious that it had to happen, otherwise all of this becomes irresponsible. There’s no toll or actual downside to this very bad idea of bringing all of these people together. As a film it’s just irresponsible. That’s why we’re bringing him back for a S.H.I.E.L.D. series.”

Oh that’s why? The message he’s trying to convey is a bit unclear, but the bottom line is that he has some big plans for Agent Coulson, which is why he’s choosing to bring him back, potentially contradicting the events of ‘The Avengers’. His comments haven’t exactly provided us with hints, so many fans are still left to wonder just how the Son of Coul will make his return.

Here’s how I can see it happening: The framing device of the show is Coulson’s funeral and the episodes are flashbacks featuring the fallen agent in action with his team that remember him fondly. Either that or the show takes place in between ‘Iron Man’ and ‘The Avengers’ and features the missions of the agent and his team in between his appearances on the big screen. Or Whedon thinks of something that none of us could even imagine and blows our minds once again. That’s always an option.

We’ll see if my theories are right in the Fall of 2013 when ‘S.H.I.E.L.D.’ is rumored to premiere. Until then, share your own thoughts and theories in the comments below!