Samuel L. Jackson will reprise his role as Nick Fury for a new Disney+ Marvel TV series according to Variety. No details are currently available other than the fact that he’ll the popular MCU super spy is indeed the headliner of the show and that Kyle Bradstreet (Mr. Robot) will write and executive produce the series.
The news comes just months after Agents of SHIELD wrapped its seven season run on ABC. While that show was ostensibly part of the broader MCU continuity, and launched itself out of the events of the first Avengers film, it always felt a little disconnected from the Marvel Cinematic Universe proper, despite two brief cameos from Jackson himself relatively early on. And since it was always at the mercy of the bigger events happening on screen, it never really got to delve into the deeper history and machinations of the MCU’s ultimate spy agency.
Jackson has been appearing as Nick Fury since a cameo in the post credits scene of 2008’s Iron Man film. The character played a major role in The Avengers and Captain America: The Winter Soldier (where he faked his own death after it was revealed that HYDRA had infiltrated SHIELD) and made frequent appearances in the MCU movies that followed.
Notably, Jackson’s Fury was given an origin story in 2019’s Captain Marvel, which dealt with the early days of SHIELD in the mid-90s, and revealed how the character got his famous eyepatch. Most recently, Fury was spotted in Spider-Man: Far From Home…but in the depths of space on a Skrull ship.
Those recent appearances raise the biggest questions. Could this be a show dealing with Fury dealing with a coming Kree/Skrull conflict and take the action off world? Or will it be about Fury rebuilding SHIELD on a post-Avengers Earth?
The untitled Nick Fury series joins a lineup of Disney+ MCU shows, which promise to bring cinematic production values to the streaming service, with stories that (unlike previous ABC and Netflix Marvel offerings) will actually impact the events of the Marvel Cinematic Universe going forward. The first of these to arrive is WandaVision in December, and that will be followed by The Falcon and the Winter Soldier in 2021, a Tom Hiddleston starring Loki series, and more, including She-Hulk with Tatiana Maslany. Other confirmed MCU shows on Disney+ include Moon Knight and Hawkeye.
Given the uncertain state of theatrical releases at the moment (which recently led to Disney reshuffling their MCU release date calendar), it makes sense that they might double down on their streaming strategy. The Variety report doesn’t seem positive that the Nick Fury show has been ordered to series, but it’s a safe bet that it will be. We’ll update this with more information as it becomes available.