The fans that stuck around right until the end of the credits for Jon Favreau’s Iron Man back in 2008 lost their minds when Samuel L. Jackson showed up as Nick Fury to talk to Tony Stark about the Avengers Initiative, and ever since then the Director of S.H.I.E.L.D. has been an integral part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Jackson’s unprecedented nine-movie contract raised a lot of eyebrows at the time, but also signaled that the unproven Marvel Studios were intent on making their long-term plans for an interconnected series of films a success. Of course, we all know how that turned out in the end, with the MCU firmly established as the biggest game in town. Not to mention that the prolific actor must have even signed a new deal, with his cameo in Avengers: Endgame marking the eleventh time that he’s appeared in the franchise.
However, there’s been recent speculation that Jackson could be on his way out of the MCU, with reports that Nick Fury and S.H.I.E.L.D. could be phased out during Phase Four and Abigail Brand and S.W.O.R.D. are being lined up as replacements. In fact, we already know that the MCU’s latest acronym enthusiasts will be appearing in WandaVision.
We’ve now heard from our sources though – the same ones who told us Extraction is getting a sequel and Now You See Me 3 is in development, both of which were correct – that Jackson has made it clear that he wants to remain part of the MCU for a while yet. He enjoys playing the role and is apparently hoping to stick around for a bit longer, with the actor reportedly asking Kevin Feige if he can remain on board.
From what we understand, though, Feige is keen to bring in a lot of new faces to freshen up the MCU in a post-Endgame world, and with Jackson now 71 years old, the boss thinks the time is right for him to step away from the part. We’ve also heard that the regular Quentin Tarantino collaborator is thinking of going over Feige’s head to the higher-ups at Disney to express his feelings on the matter. And given how much he enjoys the regular paychecks and light shooting schedule that come with playing one of cinema’s most popular recurring characters, it seems he has little intention of allowing Nick Fury to ride off into the sunset just yet.
Of course, it remains to be seen how this will all play out, but as of now, it sure doesn’t sound like Jackson is too happy with Mavel’s decision to have Abigail Brand take on Nick Fury’s role in the MCU.
