In een interview met Crave Online reageert acteur Clark Gregg op de geruchten dat zijn personage, S.H.I.E.L.D. agent Phil Coulson, zou sterven in The Avengers.

Gregg: "I’m flattered that people care, but I wish they would stop saying this because they’re going to put it in somebody’s mind! I’m talking to them about doing IRON MAN 3 right now, and somebody’s going 'Maybe Agent Coulson should die,' and I’m like, 'Hey, hey, hey! This is the best job I’ve ever had! Stop talking about killing Agent Coulson off. No, no, no. I talked to Joss Whedon early on. I said 'Hey, why is everyone saying this?' And he said, 'Yeah, I’ve done that before. Don’t worry. You’re safe.'"

Phil Coulson zal dus niet sterven in The Avengers en keert zelfs terug in Iron Man 3. Zijn personage zal daarnaast ook in geanimeerde vorm te zien zijn in de nieuwe reeks Ultimate Spider-Man.