The Marvel Cinematic Universe is an ever expanding place. The shared universe will introduce its whopping 15th film with Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, and Phase Three will make have strides in making the franchise more inclusive- with women and people of color taking larger roles. And one of those upcoming game changers is the highly anticipated Black Panther movie, which has accrued a stunning cast of actors. But one major MCU figure is noticeably absent: Samuel L. Jackson's Nick Fury. And it turns out that the legendary actor isn't too pleased about this slight.
Samuel L. Jackson recently sat down with Sirius XM to promote his role in Kong: Skull Island, alongside fellow Marvel players Tom Hiddleston and Brie Larson. Eventually the subject of Black Panther came up, and Jackson revealed his unhappiness with being left out of the upcoming blockbuster. He said,
I can't go to Wakanda, for some reason. I'm the only black character you've got in the Marvel universe right now, now for some reason when you do a black Marvel movie, I can't show up in Wakanda? Okay, fine. I'll meet him later.
Talk about FOMO.
Samuel L. Jackson is thoroughly frustrated that he doesn't have a role in Black Panther, and I can't say that I blame him. Being one of the only prominent people of color in the MCU, Jackson previously had the responsibility of carrying the banner for the entire universe. Luckily, Marvel realized their previous follies, and has been adding more diversity to the MCU. But before then it was all on Jackson, who feels like he should have been grandfathered into the Black Panther movie.
Plus, who wouldn't want to work with Black Panther's insane cast? In addition to Chadwick Boseman reprising his role from Captain America: Civil War, Black Panther has an insane supporting cast made up of familiar faces. That includes Michael B. Jordan (Creed), Academy Award Winner Lupita Nyong'o, Danai Gurira (aka Michonne from The Walking Dead), Angela Bassett, Daniel Kaluuya (Get Out), Forest Whitaker, and Sterling K. Brown (This is Us).
It should be interesting to see how Samuel L. Jackson's Nick Fury functions in the MCU moving forward. In Phase One, Fury was the string that bound the various independent stories together. But as the MCU grew, Nick fury became less vital. After an awesome appearance in Captain America: The Winter Soldier, faking his death, and his role in Age of Ultron he essentially disappeared. So while Jackson may want to be included in Black Panther, Nick Fury's return will probably be a bit more dramatic. I wouldn't be surprised if another character nearly dies during the events of Infinity War, only to be saved by the cycloptic agent himself.
Black Panther will arrive in theaters February 16th, 2018- but without Nick Fury.
