A lot of industry insiders and analysts balked at the news that Samuel L. Jackson had signed an unprecedented nine-picture contract with Marvel Studios to appear all across the length and breadth of the franchise as Nick Fury, especially when the superhero series was only one movie old and his involvement in Iron Man consisted solely of a fan-baiting cameo following the credits.
However, after the animated What If…? arrives this summer, and shooting kicks off on Disney Plus’ Secret Invasion at the end of the year, it’ll see the prolific actor donning the eye patch for a thirteenth time, and that’s provided he doesn’t factor into the likes of Spider-Man: No Way Home or The Marvels before then, which is still a distinct possibility given that he played substantial supporting roles in the previous installments of each.
Jackson’s outings have ranged in screen time from taking second billing behind Brie Larson in Captain Marvel to showing up for a few brief seconds during Avengers: Endgame, but Far From Home‘s second stinger appeared to hint that he’ll have a much bigger recurring presence throughout Phase Four now that he’s positioned himself in outer space, and will lead his own TV series for good measure.
In fact, we’ve heard from our sources this week – the same ones who told us War Machine was getting his own Disney Plus show long before Armor Wars was confirmed – that the 72 year-old legend will be dropping by Anthony Mackie’s Captain America 4 to deliver one of his trademark exposition dumps.
Nick Fury wasn’t in Civil War, but he did appear at the end of The First Avenger and factor heavily into The Winter Soldier, so with Sam Wilson now established as the MCU’s new Cap, Jackson’s character will inevitably be interested in seeing if the former Falcon has got what it takes to succeed Steve Rogers.