“Marvel’s Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D.” left fans with a serious cliffhanger at the end of last season. Not only did Coulson make a mysterious deal to temporarily become Ghost Rider, but he also woke up on a spaceship. It seems the latter will take precedence in the first half of Season 5.

Actor Clark Gregg spoke to International Business Times at New York Comic Con, and he revealed that the writers still haven’t disclosed the terms of Coulson’s deal. “I have a lot of questions about it, and it was really interesting because they were only able to give me hints,” Gregg told a small group of reporters. “You don’t get to wear the flaming skull without some ramifications. It’s not clear to me exactly what they are.”

The ABC drama let Coulson take over Robbie’s (Gabriel Luna) abilities momentarily to destroy Aida’s (Mallory Jansen) body. Though it was just for a minute, it was implied that Coulson owed a debt that would have to be paid eventually. It seems Ghost Rider isn’t coming to collect right away.

Gregg explained that the focus would be on the team figuring out how to handle their sudden arrival on a space station, where they’ll be for the first several episodes of the new season. “We are definitely transported into space, and it’s a different realm than the Ghost Rider realm,” the actor added. “So that’s kind of hanging out there like a sword over his head. I don’t quite know what it is yet, but I’m a little nervous about it.”

For Gregg, who started playing Phil Coulson in 2008’s “Iron Man,” the challenges aren’t just in front of the camera. He is directing an episode of “Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.” Season 5 as well.

“It’s like doing a standup routine for all of your brothers and sisters,” he said of directing his cast mates. “You feel like you are just going to be heckled out of the room. And instead, they were so generous and took my crazy ideas seriously. The crew on our show, it gave me a whole new appreciation of how incredible the machine is there and how talented everyone is, from props to wardrobe to editing.”

Chloe Bennet, who plays Daisy, had nothing but praise for her co-star-turned-director. “He really elevated it in a way that only Clark could have done,” she said in the NYCC press room. “He knows the characters so well and Clark has such a great eye for comedy and these really great emotional beats that I know for a fact would not have happened if he wasn’t directing.”

Of course, that isn’t to say that there weren’t any laughs had at Gregg’s expense. “To be the literal director of S.H.I.E.L.D. is also kind of awesome because we made those jokes every day,” Bennet added.

The two-hour “Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.” Season 5 premiere airs Friday, Dec. 1 at 8 p.m. EDT on ABC. Afterwards, it will settle into its 9 p.m. EDT timeslot.

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