After a three year absence, Nick Fury finally returned to the Marvel Cinematic Universe earlier this year in Avengers: Infinity War, but his appearance was short-lived. Both he and Maria Hill disappeared with half of all other life forms in the universe in the Infinity War post-credits scene, but before he turned to dust, Fury successfully activated a spruced-up pager that displayed the Captain Marvel symbol. Next March, the MCU is going back to the 1990s to tell Carol Danvers' origin story in Captain Marvel, which will also show feature a two-eyed Fury. But before that, Marvel is releasing a one-shot comic book focusing on Fury that will tie directly into Captain Marvel.
Marvel has released prelude comic books for most of the MCU entries, and Captain Marvel won't be an exception. In the Marvel Comics solicitations for November (via THR), it was revealed that a one-shot comic called Marvel's Captain Marvel Prelude, which is written by Marvel Studios' Creative Research Manager Will Corona Pilgrim (who has written all of the previous MCU prelude stories) and illustrated by Andrea Di Vito, who has worked on Marvel comic books like Annihilation, Captain America and the Falcon and Nova. Marvel's Captain Marvel Prelude will see Nick Fury and Maria Hill "set off on life-or-death missions that lead directly to the appearance of Captain Marvel." So the story will be set in the present day, but whatever events unfold in the one-shot will pave the way for what's in store for Captain Marvel, particularly where Fury is concerned.
Despite S.H.I.E.L.D.'s collapse at the end of Captain America: The Winter Soldier (although the spy organization remains active on the Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. TV series), Nick Fury has stayed entrenched in the spy world, while Maria Hill opted to join Stark Industries and help out the Avengers. But following the events of Avengers: Age of Ultron, the two were nowhere to be seen until Avengers: Infinity War's final moments, and sadly, they were quickly snuffed out. Because Fury and Hill are already confirmed to appear in Spider-Man: Far From Home, we know these two will eventually be brought back to life, but with regard to Marvel's Captain Marvel Prelude, I suspect the one-shot will show what they were up to before the battle in Wakanda unfolded. And while one shouldn't expect any major Captain Marvel reveals in the comic book, hopefully there will at least be some elaboration on the pager Fury's been carrying all these years.
When it comes to Nick Fury in Captain Marvel, Marvel Studios president Kevin Feign has said that at this stage of his life, Fury believes the best days of his career are behind him due to the Cold War concluding. Audiences will see a Fury who hasn't any exposure to superheroes or aliens, but once he meets Carol Danvers, his life will be thrown for a loop. Maria Hill was a little too young to be participating as an agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. in the 1990s, but joining Samuel L. Jackson's Fury in Captain Marvel is Clark Gregg's Phil Coulson, who is "a bit of the new guy" during the movie.
You can pick up your copy of Marvel's Captain Marvel Prelude digitally or at your local comic book store on November 14, and Captain Marvel will fly into theaters on March 8, 2019.
