When the first trailer for Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D. season 6 arrived last week, it appeared to suggest that Clark Gregg’s Phil Coulson (or at least a very convincing lookalike) could be returning to the show. Now Clark Gregg has spoken about this mysterious new role.

Upon returning from the future last season, Agent Coulson learned that merging with Ghost Rider caused the Kree DNA that was keeping him alive to wear off. With only limited time left in this life, Coulson left S.H.I.E.L.D. and decided to spend his remaining time with Melinda May.

Meanwhile, in real life, Clark Gregg went off to shoot Captain Marvel, a Marvel Cinematic Universe movie that is set in the nineties, back when Phil was a younger man.

Then came this trailer below, which shows Gregg back in the show, albeit is a character that claims not to know what S.H.I.E.L.D. is. And further to that, Agent May is adamant that she saw Coulson die…

At the end of the teaser, we see Gregg turn to the camera while a dialogue exchange plays out. “We’re from S.H.I.E.L.D.”, says one voice. And the Coulson-looking chap responds, saying, “Never heard of it.”

So, what’s that all about? Here’s what Gregg has said in a video interview:

“They used to say he’s the glue of the Marvel universe. I now think he’s the cockroach of the Marvel Universe. The whole thing can go down; there can be snaps, whatever. He’s not killable apparently. He’s just still going to be around.”

Gregg then added this, confirming that this character from season 6 “is no Phil Coulson”:

“The Coulson role, although always evolving and always having new parts of him revealed to me by our writers became a very familiar skin in a way. To change all that and suddenly find myself playing this other very mysterious person who is no Phil Coulson, and the mystery of who that is and why he looks like that is something that they’ve done groundbreaking, wild stuff with that I’m really lucky to play.”

Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D. season 6 will consist of 13 episodes, and it will arrive on our screens this summer. Season 7 has already been confirmed, as well.

More news as we hear it.