Clark Gregg Will Star in Joss Whedon's S.H.I.E.L.D. TV Series; Guillermo del Toro Says HULK Series is Inactive

Marvel's plans to transition their popular Cinematic Universe to television will begin with The Avengers' director Joss Whedon's upcoming series based around the clandestine government agency S.H.I.E.L.D.

The Avengers 2 is scheduled for theatrical release in 2015, but before production begins writer/director Joss Whedon has been tasked with bringing to the small screen. A TV series based on the happenings of S.H.I.E.L.D. has been greenlit and will air on ABC. Production on the live-action project is set to begin immediately. Whedon will write and direct the pilot and executive produce the series alongside his brother Jed Whedon, Maurissa Tancharoen, Jeffrey Bell and Marvel TV's Jeph Loeb. S.H.I.E.L.D. (in movie canon) is the U.S. government's Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division, who answers to the secretive World Security Counsel. Originally created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, S.H.I.E.L.D. made its first comic book appearance in Strange Tales #135 in 1965.

Last week, the descriptions of four original characters set to appear in the series were made public. Now, news has come out that Clark Gregg, who played S.H.I.E.L.D. Agent Phil Coulson in four Marvel Studios films and was killed off in The Avengers, is the first cast member to officially be signed onto the project.

It was Whedon himself who recently confirmed the casting (via CNN): "We all love Clark Gregg, there's no doubt about that. From before we made 'The Avengers,' we discussed whether there was a way for him to be a part of the Marvel universe, perhaps a part of a TV show after his death. ... He's headlining the S.H.I.E.L.D. show and always was."

In other Marvel TV news, Guillermo del Toro's much anticipated Hulk series has apparently been met with more delays. While promoting his new sci-fi film Pacific Rim, the popular director offered these words about it to MTV

"Right now, all I know is we've been in a holding pattern for the last eight months. All The say is we're waiting on a writer, but it's been inactive. It's still there as far as I know, but there's been no action on it."