After a couple of films' worth of absence, Samuel L. Jackson is returning as Nick Fury to the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) in the upcoming "Captain Marvel." However, he will not be the same Nick Fury fans knew from the past films.
The female-centric film will be set in the 1990s, and during that time, Nick Fury is younger and still has two working eyes. This means no iconic eyepatch and no need for any extra time in the makeup chair for the actor. Talking to AV Club, Jackson said: "You'll see Nick Fury with another guy's face, somebody that's got two eyes, so that's a whole big deal. You'll see. It's prior to the eye injury, no eye patch."
Nick Fury's eyepatch is his most distinct visual attribute apart from his leather coats and black turtlenecks. It was not explained clearly how the character lost his eye in the MCU, but he did say in "Captain America: The Winter Soldier" that he lost it as a result of misplaced trust. Hopefully, that would be explained more in "Captain Marvel."
Jackson debuted as the superspy in 2008's "Iron Man," only making a cameo on the post-credit scene of the film and its subsequent spin-offs. He officially made a complete appearance in 2012's "The Avengers" after bringing all superheroes together and last appeared in its sequel, "Avengers: Age of Ultron," where he cameoed to help the team out of a pinch.
Marvel has yet to confirm whether they are completely done with Jackson's character after Phase 3, but the actor hinted he is at the end of his deal with the studio, referring to his role in the past tense.
"I'm sort of the glue that holds all these guys together. I got them into the organization, into S.H.I.E.L.D., and every now and then I show up to remind them that S.H.I.E.L.D. has a purpose," he recalled. "It's been a good job. It was a nine-picture deal. I did it. It was good."
Jackson is expected to skip "Black Panther," "Avengers: Infinity War," and "Avengers 4," if his August 2017 statement is anything to go by. Marvel is keeping its lips sealed until those movies come out, so fans will have to wait and see. Either way, he will be with Brie Larson's Carol Danvers in "Captain Marvel" on March 8, 2019.
