While it was somewhat of a surprise when Agents of SHIELD was renewed for a sixth season by ABC — the show has always struggled with its ratings, even while the fan and critical response has only gotten better from year to year — the real shocker came when the network quickly tacked an additional set of shows — Season 7 — onto the schedule as well.
But with Season 6 set to roll out this spring and the seventh starting to shoot, star Clark Gregg told us that a seven-year run is likely going to be it for the Marvel series.
“That’s the word I’ve heard,” said Gregg when we spoke with him recently at the press junket for Captain Marvel. “The announcement I read was, two more seasons, six and seven.”
Although Gregg added that he “really doesn’t know much about” Season 7 just yet, he enthused that he’s “excited” for viewers to check out Season 6. “I can’t wait for people to see Season 6,” he told us. “People who have been on the journey with me and with Phil Coulson are going to get something very, very different.”
Of course, Marvel fans will get to see Gregg as Coulson even earlier, starting on March 8 when Captain Marvel hits theater screens. He’s playing a younger version of the character in the film, back in the days when he was a new S.H.I.E.L.D. operative and just starting to work for Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) long before either of them had heard of Iron Man or the Avengers.
Read More: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. and the Future of the Marvel TV Universe
Should Season 7 indeed be the end of the line for Agents of SHIELD, would Gregg be interested in having the character return again to the Marvel Cinematic Universe on the big screen? “I feel so grateful for the journey that I’ve had, that I’m hesitant to ask for anything,” he said thoughtfully. “I’ll never say no when the Marvel Universe calls up. I feel very grateful for what I’ve done.”
Captain Marvel is out March 8, while Agents of SHIELD season 6 premieres on ABC in May.
Don Kaye is a Los Angeles-based entertainment journalist and associate editor of Den of Geek. Other current and past outlets include Syfy, United Stations Radio Networks, Fandango, MSN, RollingStone.com and many more. Read more of his work here. Follow him on Twitter @donkaye
