Clark Gregg’s Agent Phil Coulson has always been the heart of the Avengers. So does that mean that he will he be part of Avengers: Age of Ultron? And what about his story arc?

As for being in Age of Ultron, the answer is a big, resounding NOPE!

According to the new issue of Total Film (out on stands now), Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.’s very own Agent (or should we say Director ) Coulson won’t even pop in in director Joss Whedon's upcoming Age of Ultron, and that the impact of his “death” in 2012’s The Avengers will still be felt by Earth’s Mightiest Heroes.

If you guys will recall, it was Coulson’s demise -- and Colonel Nick Fury's deft manipulation of that event -- that ultimately galvanized the team into coming together to defeat Loki and the Chitauri army.

Worse, they won’t even find out that Coulson is actually still alive and kicking, and that he’s busy running a brand-new, slimmed-down version of S.H.I.E.L.D. in the wake of the events of Captain America: The Winter Soldier, which carried over the final episodes of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., until The Avengers 3.

Well ... that’s a bit of a bummer.

Apparently Coulson’s arc WILL be resolved, but not until the third entry in the Avengers franchise -- which should be released around 2018.

This means we'll get a couple of seasons of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. under our belts before we finally get a resolution to everything that’s happening to Coulson. Remember, he started scribbling what looked like some weird alien writing in the season-one finale of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., which could have very dire consequences for our favorite S.H.I.E.L.D. agent.

Being brought back to life under the infamous T.A.H.I.T.I. project by being injected with that creepy and very dead blue alien's blood (quite possibly a Kree), as well as getting one's brain reprogrammed, will do that to ya, for sure.

Are you guys disappointed that Clark Gregg won’t be in Avengers: Age of Ultron and that his story arc won’t be resolved until the Earth’s Mightiest Heroes' third outing?

Avengers: Age of Ultron will hit theaters on May 1, 2015.

(via Comic Book)