The cast of Avengers: Domsday is mighty impressive, but also missing some big names. Tom Holland, Chris Pratt, and Hugh Jackman were among those absent from March's casting announcement, as was Samuel L. Jackson.
The legendary actor first played Nick Fury in 2008's Iron Man, and despite taking centre stage in Secret Invasion and The Marvels, the former S.H.I.E.L.D. Director has been largely absent from the Avengers franchise since Age of Ultron.
Today, scooper Alex Perez brings word that Jackson is set to return as Fury in Avengers: Doomsday. Hopefully, he'll be front and centre in helping Earth's Mightiest Heroes combat the threat Doctor Doom poses to the Multiverse.
When we last saw Fury, he was still orbiting Earth in S.A.B.E.R.'s base. We'd bet on him remaining allied with Captain Marvel, especially if they're still looking for the missing Monica Rambeau.
Hopefully, this means we're one step closer to seeing Fury share the screen with the X-Men, a team-up we couldn't have imagined even a decade ago.
"I knew I had a nine-picture deal," Jackson previously said of joining the MCU. "[Marvel Studios president] Kevin [Feige] said that: 'We’re going to offer you a nine-picture deal.' How long do you have to stay alive to make nine movies? It’s not the quickest process in the world."
"I didn’t know they were going to make nine movies in like two and a half years," he admitted. "That’s kind of crazy! Oh shit, I’m using up my contracts. It worked out."
Later saying he still enjoys pulling off Fury's "badass shit," Jackson reiterated his interest in taking the former S.H.I.E.L.D. Director to Black Panther's home nation of Wakanda.
"All the Black people in the Marvel Universe were trying to figure out, 'Why can't we go to Wakanda?' Me, Don, Anthony Mackie... but they made it. They got to go fight. I still didn't get there," he noted. "I thought that about 'Civil War' when the kids were fighting. The kids are fighting and I'm not gonna make them go to their rooms? How does that make sense?"
The MCU's Captain America, Anthony Mackie, has also expressed his interest in seeing Fury reunite with The Avengers in Doomsday.
"If you know anything about Sam, you can't tell Sam where he's going to be and what he's going to be doing," the actor teased during Captain America: Brave New World's press tour. "Sam is going to tell you where he's going to be and what he's going to be doing. So, we'll see; you never know."
Avengers: Doomsday stars Chris Hemsworth, Anthony Mackie, Winston Duke, Tom Hiddleston, Sebastian Stan, Letitia Wright, Paul Rudd, and Robert Downey Jr. Wyatt Russell, Simu Liu, Tenoch Huerta Mejia, Florence Pugh, Danny Ramirez, David Harbour, Hannah John-Kamen, and Lewis Pullman all make the Avengers franchise debuts in the movie.
The Fantastic Four: First Steps leads Pedro Pascal, Vanessa Kirby, Ebon Moss-Bachrach, and Joseph Quinn join them, as do X-Men franchise stars Kelsey Grammer, Patrick Stewart, Ian McKellen, Alan Cumming, Rebecca Romijn, James Marsden, and Deadpool & Wolverine star Channing Tatum.
The Russo Brothers direct the movie from a script by Stephen McFeely, with whom they previously collaborated on the Captain America and Avengers franchises.
Avengers: Doomsday is set to be released on December 18, 2026, with Avengers: Secret Wars scheduled to arrive on December 17, 2027.