Clark Gregg is returning to Marvel’s Agents of SHIELD, but he’ll be behind the camera directing the show’s sixth season premiere.

The Marvel’s Agents of SHIELD Instagram account shared a look at the cover sheet for the season premiere script. The episode is titled “Missing Pieces” and is written by Jed Whedon & Maurissa Tancharoen and directed by Gregg.

“Season 6 and Clark Gregg is in the director's chair for the first episode!” the account wrote. “We can't wait for you to see what we have coming on Marvel's Agents of SHIELD!”

Gregg has previously directed another episode of Marvel’s Agents of SHIELD, “Fun and Games” from season five.

The title of the episode is somewhat telling. “Missing Pieces” feels like it may be a reference to the missing members of the SHIELD team. Gregg’s character, Phil Coulson, left the team to live out his final days in Tahiti. Agent Melinda May joined him. Agent Leo Fitz was killed in the season finale, though the SHIELD team hopes to find the version of him that was sent into space in a state of suspended animation.

In addition to the news that Gregg will return to direct, it was also revealed today that season five recurring guest star Jeff Ward has been upped to series regular in season six. That’s good news for both his character, Deke, and for Fitz since Deke is Fitz and Jemma Simmons’ grandson from the future. If Ward is able to return as Deke, that means there’s a fair chance that Simmons and Fitz will be reunited.

The sixth season of Marvel's Agents of SHIELD will consist of 13 episodes rather than the usual 22 episodes and will not debut until the summer of 2019, which means that it will release after the fourth Avengers movie and thus avoid having to incorporate the effects of Thanos' Infinity Gauntlet snap into its stories, though the show's writers may still choose to reference the event.

Gregg's future in front of the camera on Agents of SHIELD remains unclear. It is somewhat hard to imagine Agents of SHIELD with Phil Coulson - the character's resurrection after his death in Marvel's The Avengers is what launched the series - but so far there's been no hint that Coulson will return to action in the future.

Are you excited for Agents of SHIELD to begin filming its sixth season? Let us know what you think in the comments!