SPOILER WARNING: This article contains major spoilers for “The End,” the Season 5 finale of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.
While longtime recurring character General Glenn Talbot (Adrian Pasdar) always had a contentious relationship with the titular super-spy team, the latest season of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. saw the character descend into full-blown villainy. In a desperate bid to protect Earth from a new threat, Talbot infuses himself with Gravitonium to become the Marvel Cinematic Universe version of Graviton. This super-powered transformation pits Graviton against S.H.I.E.L.D. once and for all as the team confronts him to prevent an apocalyptic future.
In the Season 5 finale, Daisy Johnson defeats Graviton by using her powers to push the rogue general into outer space and to his doom. However, Executive Producer Jed Whedon cast doubt on Graviton’s final fate.
RELATED: With Infinity War, Agents of SHIELD Finally Nailed An MCU Crossover
“This is Marvel, and even more, it’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.,” Whedon explained in an interview with Entertainment Weekly. “I know we see him floating in space, but he’s Graviton, so you never know. So if the rest of the fans feel the way you do, then chances are he might not be super dead,”
In an exclusive interview with CBR, Whedon and co-showrunners Maurissa Tancharoen and Jeff Bell revealed Talbot becoming the main antagonist in the series’ fifth season was developed as a way to pay off on the character’s arc since his initial introduction during the second season.
With the series recently renewed by ABC for a shortened sixth season to premiere next summer, S.H.I.E.L.D. may be facing the gravity-powered mad general once again.
RELATED: Agents of SHIELD EP’s Reveal Why Graviton Had to be Season 5’s Villain
Returning in summer 2019 on ABC, Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. stars Clark Gregg, Ming-Na Wen, Chloe Bennet, Henry Simmons, Ian De Caestecker, Natalia Cordova-Buckley, and Elizabeth Henstridge.