Samuel L. Jackson revealed when Nick Fury will make a grand comeback to the MCU, but it won't happen in Avengers: Doomsday. Following the end of the Infinity Saga, Nick Fury's Multiverse Saga arc is more isolated from his previous role as the man who built the Avengers. Fury spent most of his time offworld, dealing with the personal fallout of the Blip before eventually re-entering the main story in Secret Invasion and The Marvels. Secret Invasion pulled back the curtain on Fury's backstory while dealing with a villainous Skrull faction. The Marvels showed Fury running SABER while continuing his alliance with Brie Larson's Captain Marvel and forging new ones with Iman Vellani's Kamala Khan. The last time fans saw Fury was on Earth with the Khan family, and it's clear that his story is far from over.
Avengers: Doomsday, set to premiere on December 18, will bring most of the MCU's heroes to the forefront alongside some important figures from the vast Multiverse. Unfortunately, Samuel L. Jackson was not among the confirmed cast during Doomsday's official cast reveal.
Speaking in an exclusive interview with The Direct on the red carpet for The Beast, Samuel L. Jackson confirmed that he will not return as Nick Fury in Avengers: Doomsday, but he did reveal that he will make a comeback in Avengers: Secret Wars:
The Direct: "I love your work as Nick Fury. We haven't seen you in a minute..."
Samuel L. Jackson: "Next movie... [The] movie after this one."
When asked if there is anything he can tease about Secret Wars, Jackson played coy, noting that he has "no idea" what the story will be:
Samuel L. Jackson: "I have no idea. [Marvel] hasn't told me anything, other than, 'You're not gonna be in this movie. You'll be in the next.'"
It's no surprise that Avengers: Secret Wars is bringing back Samuel L. Jackson's Nick Fury, considering that this MCU crossover seems poised to bring together almost all of Marvel's stars due to its rumored Battleworld story. Jackson's confirmation also directly debunks a previous report that Nick Fury would return in Avengers: Doomsday.
Fury's strategic prowess and intel on various threats are valuable to the overall mission, and the fact that he is one of the few characters who has spent the entire Multiverse Saga watching Earth from the outside makes him a significant addition to the ensemble.
It's also interesting that Brie Larson's Captain Marvel isn't confirmed to appear in Avengers: Doomsday (despite the clue that her symbol may have inspired a design on Doctor Doom's costume). With Jackson confirming his return as Nick Fury in Secret Wars, it would only make sense for Carol Danvers to follow suit, considering that she is one of the most powerful active heroes tied to Fury and the fact that the Avengers will need all the help they can get to take down Robert Downey Jr.'s Doctor Doom.
How Nick Fury Fits into Avengers: Secret Wars' Rumored Battleworld Plot
In Marvel Comics, 2015's Secret Wars story is sprinkled with resistance elements, considering that the main Battleworld plot revealed that this new world is ruled by Doctor Doom, and most of the residents are brainwashed or forced to believe that what Doom did was necessary to save everyone. A small pocket of survivors from the pre-Multiverse collapse remembers everything, and they actively try to overturn Doom's regime from the shadows.
Having Nick Fury in Secret Wars as the man who organizes those survivors, sorts the reliable from the compromised, and coordinates the strikes could make the role a full-circle moment for Samuel L. Jackson. In the Infinity Saga, he built the Avengers. On Battleworld, he would do the same job, but in reverse, by recruiting the people Doom failed to rewrite and turning them into a well-oiled machine.
The resistance in the comics works because it stayed small and contained. Fury would be the overseer of the network, echoing what he did in Secret Invasion by fighting a war against a wave of enemies wearing friendly faces. As a spymaster who has dealt with Skrulls' betrayal and Hydra's SHIELD takeover, Fury is the perfect man for the job, and could break Doctor Doom's regime with a well-calculated approach.
While Fury is clearly not a heavy hitter like Thor and Hulk, his strategic prowess and guidance could reign supreme and be what the remaining heroes need as they face an insurmountable threat in Doctor Doom.
