It's almost a rite of passage at this point, but with every press event for an upcoming Marvel Studios movie comes an inevitable question: is Phil Coulson or other members of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. going to be in it?

And while the routine, disappointing response of "Coulson is not in this, movies are separate from TV" tends to be the common reaction, Avengers: Infinity War co-director Anthony Russo had a much more intriguing answer during today's press conference.

"I'd like to talk more about bass fishing," Russo joked.

For context, Star-Lord actor Chris Pratt previously dodged a spoilery question about his character's reaction to seeing other earthlings for the first time in decades, and he instead talked about bass fishing.

Russo's response toed that same line, teasing the involvement of Coulson in the upcoming Marvel Studios epic, though he wouldn't confirm in his followup response.

"We thought about everybody in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and how they could play a role in the story," Russo said, speaking more about the process of crafting the story rather than directly answering the question.

Coulson talk has seemingly intensified in recent weeks as the possibility of this being the final season of Agents of SHIELD — and the announced return of Coulson to the big screen as part of the cast of Captain Marvel.

This doesn't mean the Avengers will learn of Coulson's resurrection, however, as Captain Marvel is set in the '90s and will show Nick Fury with both eyes intact. Other cast members like Lee Pace as Ronan the Accuser and Djimon Hounsou as Korath the Persuer, both from Guardians Of The Galaxy, will reprise their roles for the throwback film.

So going back to the past will give Marvel an excuse to bring back some fan favorite characters that have since passed on in the present day. And knowing that Coulson will once again appear on the big screen is getting fans excited for even more appearances in the future.

We're unlikely to ever see Daisy or May mix it up with Earth's Mightiest in a future Marvel Studios film, but knowing Coulson could possibly play a part in the war against Thanos is enough to get us even more excited for the new movie — if that were even possible.

Avengers: Infinity War premieres in theaters on April 27th.

Do you want to see Coulson back in the Marvel Cinematic Universe? Let us know how you feel in the comment section.