Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. recruits Lou Diamond Phillips to direct in season 6

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Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. is staging a mini Stargate Universe reunion.

EW can exclusively reveal that Lou Diamond Phillips will direct the fifth episode of ABC/Marvel drama’s forthcoming sixth season. This new gig reunites Phillips with his Stargate Universe co-star Ming-Na Wen, who plays fierce S.H.I.E.L.D. agent Melinda May on the series.

“I got the call when I was directing Fear of the Walking Dead down in Austin: ‘Would you direct an episode of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.?’ ‘Yeah, done.’ Instant answer, because of the world, because it’s Marvel. It’s big. It’s comic-book stuff. It’s action. It’s mythology. It’s science-fiction. It’s all of that rolled into one,” Phillips told EW when we visited the set in September. “And of course my old friend Ming-Na was on it. That’s crazy, that’s wonderful!”

“When they told me he was directing, I was just so happy. We had so much fun [on Stargate],” Wen told EW. “That was a very special two years for us up in Vancouver — for me, Lou, and the whole entire crew.”

At this point, not much is known about the show’s sixth season apart from the fact that Mack (Henry Simmons) is S.H.I.E.L.D.’s new director; the team is searching for Fitz (Iain De Caestecker), who is lost and frozen in space; and, most importantly, Phil Coulson (Clark Gregg) did indeed die at the end of season 5. Gregg is part of season 6 as someone who is not definitely not Coulson, but the how and why remain a mystery. In fact, that mystery deepens when you look at the exclusive new season 6 cast image below, which shows Gregg keeping his distance from the rest of the cast, including Wen’s May.

Image zoom Matthias Clamer/ABC

Diamond is among several of notable season 6 directors, which also includes star Clark Gregg, who helmed the season 6 premiere, VFX supervisor Mark Kolpack, and executive producer Garry Brown. His previous directing credits include Longmire, The Twilight Zone, and The Outer Limits.

Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. will return in May on ABC. The show’s cast and producers will screen the season 6 premiere during the show’s WonderCon panel on Saturday, March 30 at 1:45 p.m.

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