It’s been a momentous year for Samuel L. Jackson’s Nick Fury. Captain Marvel depicted his first contact with a superhero and how he lost his eye, and Spider-Man: Far From Home saw him recruiting Peter Parker to help Mystery fight The Elementals (well, sort of).
Nick Fury also cameoed in Avengers: Endgame, but only during Tony Stark’s funeral. He was nowhere to be seen in the final battle that had the recently-returned dusted and those who’s survived The Decimation battling Thanos and his forces. As Endgame co-writer Christopher Markus said at San Diego Comic-Con earlier this month:
I don’t think we ever put him in. It was [because] we have such a traffic jam of heroes and so much power, that to have a guy who, in combat, would just be firing a gun... it doesn’t come off well for Nick Fury, frankly.
Christoper Markus has a point, as compared to wielding Mjolnir or utilizing the latest Iron Man weaponry, a simple pistol isn’t going to do much in this kind of battle. Then again, Avengers: Endgame’s climactic conflict also saw Clint Barton shooting some arrows and Bucky Barnes firing an automatic rifle; those aren’t much of a step up from what Nick Fury would have been doing.
In any case, Christopher Markus and his writing partner Stephen McFeely always planned on Nick Fury sitting on the sidelines during Avengers: Endgame’s third act, and with all the characters involved in that battle, I doubt there was anyone in the audience thinking, “Hey, where’s Fury?” Besides, Fury probably didn’t waste any time reestablishing his spy network once he was in the land of the living again, making for a better use of his time.
Warning: SPOILERS for Spider-Man: Far From Home are ahead!
Speaking of time well spent, Nick Fury didn’t waste any getting back into his normal routine post-Avengers: Endgame… or at least that’s how it initially looked. As alluded to earlier, while Samuel L. Jackson had a prominent role in Spider-Man: Far From Home, it wasn’t actually as Nick Fury, but as a disguised Talos, the Skrull enemy-turned-ally from Captain Marvel.
Talos and his wife Soren (disguised as Maria Hill) were keeping an eye on Earth while the real Nick Fury was out in space enjoying a much-needed vacation. Talos later clued Fury in on the Mysterio fiasco, and the cyclopean spy then announced to the other Skrulls aboard his starship that he needed to get back to work.
Spider-Man: Far From Home marked Nick Fury’s 10th cinematic appearance, but it’s reasonable to assume we haven’t seen the last of him. When he’ll pop up again, that’s hard to say. My money’s on Captain Marvel 2 given Fury’s history with Carol Danvers and because he’s now hanging out with the Skrulls, but we shall see.
Stay tuned to CinemaBlend for all the latest and greatest updates concerning the MCU. You can find out what the franchise has coming up in our handy guide, or you can plan your trips to the theater for the rest of the year accordingly with our handy guide.
