CAPTAIN MARVEL Directors Reveal Another Way Nick Fury Could Have Lost His Eye - EXCLUSIVE

The fact that Goose was responsible for Nick Fury losing his eye definitely came as a surprise in Captain Marvel, but it turns out that wasn't the only way it could have happened! Hit the jump for details.

By JoshWilding - May 21, 2019 08:05 AM EST

Filed Under: Captain Marvel

Heading into Captain Marvel, the thing fans really wanted to know was how Nick Fury lost his eye. It was obvious that this 90s set adventure would shed some light on that, and the prevailing theory was that a battle with a Skrull would be what led to the future S.H.I.E.L.D. Director donning that eyepatch.

After all, he did previoulsy state that someone he trusted was responsible for the nasty looking wound on his face, but the movie ultimately revealed that it was Goose who scratched Fury.

When I recently had the opportunity to talk to Captain Marvel directors Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck about the Marvel Studios movie before its DVD and Blu-ray release, I asked if they ever considered any other ways for Fury to lose his eye. As it turns out, a battle with a Skrull was indeed a very strong contender for a while before they settled on the Flerken being responsible.

Fleck: "There were definitely a lot of discussions and that was not the first idea on the table. You're probably going to ask me what some of the other ideas were and I don't know if I can tell you that, not because I'm hiding anything, but because there were just so many absurd ideas we had. There was a strong contender for a while that a fight with the Skrulls seemed like the most obvious choice but then the more we thought about it, it just became too obvious.

"Since this is just as much Nick Fury's origin story as Captain Marvel's, we thought that it would be a fun piece of his backstory that moving forward, he was creative a new narrative for himself that he didn't really talk about but he was fine with people wanting to muse about a potentially more serious way he could have lost his eye."

Boden, meanwhile, added: "Yeah, he didn't go around flaunting that he basically got a cat scratch!" That's understandable, of course. Fury's conversation with Agent Coulson at the end of the movie is hilarious, and the start of him creating a myth around the loss of his eye.

Check back here tomorrow for our full interview with the Captain Marvel directors.

For a previously released Captain Marvel spoiler-breakdown
via Empire Magazine, hit the "View List" button below.

The Russo Brothers Directed The Mid-Credits Scene

This probably won't come as too much of a shock but it was actually Avengers: Infinity War directors Joe and Anthony Russo who directed that mid-credits scene featuring Carol Danvers' return to Earth and first meeting with The Avengers.

"It’s really a direct lead-in to their movie," says Boden. "They came up with the concept for it, and we said, ‘That sounds awesome.’" What we don't know is whether or not a longer version of the scene will play out during Avengers: Endgame similar to that Captain America: Civil War stinger at the end of Ant-Man back in 2015.

That Big Twist With The Skrulls

The big twist in Captain Marvel comes when we learn that the Skrulls are actually sympathetic characters and not the villains we're used to seeing in the comic books.

"This was so much a movie about Carol's journey towards finding her own humanity," says Boden. "Part of that is also seeing the humanity in other people, even people who you don't expect to. The idea of having Carol […] realising that she's been wrong and having to face that was really powerful for us."

"And if we could make an audience member also have that same experience of assuming that they were one thing and then having their expectations subverted, we thought that would be just all the more powerful," she concludes.

A Linear Approach To Captain Marvel's Origin Story

Carol Danvers' origin story plays out in a very unexpected fashion but earlier versions of the movie had a far more linear structure. As a result, the action would have kicked off with the hero on Earth and we would have explored her friendship with Maria Rambeau.

"The original opening to the script was a simulated combat situation in her fighter jets," Fleck reveals. "There was a whole Top Gun-style sequence that we were even planning to shoot for a while. Even though it was an awesome introduction to Carol and Maria Rambeau – and I think it would have been fun for the audience to meet them on Earth as humans – the problem with that is the audience would be so far ahead of the story."

The movie would have then jumped forward in time but Fleck argues that what we ended up getting was a better approach to the story. "But you would have already known, and viscerally felt, her as a human. When she is uncovering her past and feeling a bit freaked out by it, I think it's much more effective."

Goose Was Always Going To Be In The Movie

Goose is a breakout character in Captain Marvel but the Flerken wasn't a last-minute addition to proceedings; instead, the alien was part of proceedings from the very beginning.

"I mean, a cat, who's a Flerken, who has pocket dimensions?" says Fleck. "There was no way that wasn't going to end up in this movie!" Goose was always intended to be the reason Nick Fury lost his eye: "Something about that belly being rubbed, Goose did not appreciate."

An Alternate After-Credits Scene

Captain Marvel's after-credits scene features Goose throwing up the Tesseract on Nick Fury's desk but Marvel Studios originally had a much different idea for where to take things.

"There was an idea on the table about having Jude Law […] emerge from his pod on Sakaar," Fleck explains, referring to the setting of Thor: Ragnarok, "and then have him look around and see the Devil's Anus behind him and wonder, 'Where the hell am I?'"

That would have been fun to see but also closed the door on Yon-Rogg being able to return.

Why Talos Has An Australian Accent

Ben Mendohlson plays both S.H.I.E.L.D. Agent Keller and Talos but the latter has the actor's natural Australian accent. So, why did Marvel Studios decide to take things down that route?

"Everybody is just facile with their natural accent, they can show more emotion," explains Boden. "I think it was important for him to kind of be as wild as Ben Mendelsohn wants to be."

That certainly appears to have paid off as the actor has been praised for his performance.

Captain Marvel's Name

Just like Wanda Maximoff has never been called "Scarlet Witch" and Clint Barton has never been directly referred to as "Hawkeye," Carol Danvers isn't known as "Captain Marvel" in the movie.

However, the seeds are planted throughout both by Nick Fury saying "Marvel" has a better ring to it than "Mar-Vell" and the fact he discovers that she was a Captain in the movie's final scene. "You see that she was ‘Captain Carol Danvers’ when [Fury] has her file at the very end, so Captain is there if you want it," Boden explains.

The Avenger Initiative

Captain Marvel wraps up with Fury renaming his "Protector Initiative" after learning that Carol Danvers' call sign in the Air Force was "Avenger." As you might expect, that was a very deliberate decision.

"Kevin Feige and the Marvel team said, 'We want her to be inspiring Nick Fury to create the Avengers by the end of this movie,’" says Fleck before revealing that there was once an alternate take on the scene. "We did shoot him actually writing the Avengers Initiative on the screen, and it just felt like we didn't need to see it."

The Tesseract

During the course of this movie, we learn that Carol Danvers receives her powers courtesy of the Tesseract, a.k.a.the Space Stone.

Rather than creating a new energy source, the filmmakers chose to bring back a familiar MacGuffin and Boden has explained that it's been in the hands of the American government ever since the events of Captain America: The First Avenger. "Our thought was that they had gotten this thing, but they didn't know anything about it.

"They just kind of had it lying around somewhere at S.H.I.E.L.D., and [Mar-Vell] was able to use it to create her lightspeed engine at Pegasus. Only her as an alien would even know it had all this power, and figure out how to harness it."

Annette Bening Wasn't Always Playing The Supreme Intelligence

Annette Bening ends up playing both Mar-Vell/Dr. Wendy Lawson and the Supreme Intelligence in Captain Marvel but that wasn't always the plan. "We initially had a separate figure being the Supreme Intelligence," Boden confirms. "To have it be connected to her origin and her hero felt like an obvious idea that should have been in there from the very beginning. All of a sudden I woke up from a nap, and I was like 'What the hell are we doing? Why are these two separate people?’"

What do you guys think about these Captain Marvel reveals? Share your thoughts down below.

CAPTAIN MARVEL Concept Art Reveals A Completely Unrecognizable Take On Carol Danvers In 2019 Movie

Recommended For You:

THE MARVELS Star Brie Larson Shares A Blunt Response When Asked About Her Future As Captain Marvel

DISCLAIMER: ComicBookMovie.com is protected under the DMCA (Digital Millenium Copyright Act) and... [MORE]

ComicBookMovie.com, and/or the user who contributed this post, may earn commissions or revenue through clicks or purchases made through any third-party links contained within the content above.

Do you have what it takes to write for us?

Want to contribute?

118 Comments

1 2 3

RextheKing - 5/21/2019, 9:09 AM

If this is part of the same interview I don't see why it's being split up.

MexCowboyNation - 5/21/2019, 9:10 AM

@RextheKing -

RextheKing - 5/21/2019, 9:12 AM

@MexCowboyNation - Yeah that was rhetorical. Wilding gonna Wilding.

MexCowboyNation - 5/21/2019, 9:10 AM

Should have lost an eye to a Kree or hold off doing until Wolverine is established and he is the cause of the eye.

superbigguy32 - 5/21/2019, 12:43 PM

@MexCowboyNation - Damn!!! That would’ve been so [frick]ing epic. Fury was involved in The Weapon X project and he was close to Logan and then after the surgery when he lost his memory Wolverine goes across his face with his claws. That would’ve been a trillion times better than that damn cat.

Vandalore - 5/21/2019, 1:23 PM

@MexCowboyNation - I've said the Wolverine thing in so many Captain Marvel articles and got mercilessly trolled by fanboys. It was so toxic around here when this movie was first released. I'm glad we can actually talk about its flaws now without an avalanche of rabid twats hushing us.

Makiveli21 - 5/21/2019, 2:24 PM

@PTM - definitely should have been Logan. Wasn't that how it happened in the ultimate universe?

Vandalore - 5/21/2019, 3:46 PM

@Makiveli21 - in a few different modern interpretations it was Wolverine. The classic reason, if memory serves, was something to do with a grenade and a helicopter or something like that, something about him trying to save members of his Squad... I'm foggy on the details and dont care to Google it at the moment. But I've seen in a few comics and a few shows and direct releases that it was Wolverine who took Fury's eye.

Davidthegreat22 - 5/22/2019, 12:43 AM

@MexCowboyNation - now that sounds stupid and too predictable, wolverine really? Gtfo here

Subtlespammer24 - 5/21/2019, 9:11 AM

Ted Nugent maintains that the eye was lost due to “Cat Scratch Fever”

Nebula - 5/21/2019, 9:11 AM

"but then the more we thought about it, it just became too obvious."
It being on account of the cat was the first thing everybody guessed as soon as we knew both of them would be in the film. I thought it wouldn't be because of how obvious it was.

GhostDog - 5/21/2019, 9:18 AM

@Nebula -

Nebula - 5/21/2019, 1:17 PM

@KingCipher -

Mcufanboy101 - 5/21/2019, 1:19 PM

@Nebula - Really? I highly doubt that most people expected it to be the cat that scratched his eye out.

Nebula - 5/21/2019, 2:03 PM

@CheepTricks - Well they did.

ShimmyShimmyYA - 5/21/2019, 3:50 PM

@Nebula - they definitely didn’t . It was floated but most people still assumed it was a Skrull since they were the partial bad guys of the movie . After the toy leaks is when people knew it was the cat

Vandalore - 5/21/2019, 4:00 PM

@Nebula - I dont remember anyone carrying on about it being the cat. But I'm not saying they didn't, I just never saw it either. But you are definitely and obviously reliable and on here enough and a contributor, so if you say it was a thing I'm inclined to believe you.

Nebula - 5/21/2019, 4:27 PM

@PTM -

Mcufanboy101 - 5/22/2019, 6:12 PM

@Nebula - nah, most people thought skrull. Trust me

Nebula - 5/22/2019, 6:29 PM

@CheepTricks - nah, most people though cat. Trust me

Mrcool210 - 5/21/2019, 9:13 AM

Oh there could have been many ways Fury could have lost his eye, you just picked the least interesting one. For [frick] sakes the movie had skrulls in it, people who could shape shift and you didn't play into that being how he loses trust and loses his eye? Maybe one of the skrulls could have been coulson all along and makes him lose his eye that way. Which would explain why he trusts coulson so much in AOS and Avengers and keeps him so close to the chest.

But nope, we get a cat doing it.

MosquitoFarmer - 5/21/2019, 9:13 AM

At least Fury took the scratch like a champ.

DoctorDoomSayer - 5/23/2019, 3:02 AM

@MosquitoFarmer - That's the other thing that really bothered me about that entire sequence it seemed like there was absolutely no apparent reason for the cat to scratch him the way it did. Beyond that Fury didn't react like a person who just lost an eye. I put the way Fury lost his eye up there with the Mandarin twist in Iron Man 3.

1 2 3

Related Headlines

The Marvels

THE MARVELS Director Nia DaCosta In Talks To Helm Second Movie In 28 YEARS LATER Trilogy

MarkCassidy

Apr 11, 2024 11:04 AM

The Marvels

THE MARVELS Star Lashana Lynch Hopes To Share Screen With These MCU Superheroes

JoshWilding

Apr 01, 2024 04:04 AM

Other

BOB MARLEY: ONE LOVE Star Lashana Lynch On Bonding With Kingsley Ben-Adir Over Their Marvel Roles (Exclusive)

JoshWilding

Mar 23, 2024 11:03 AM

Related Headlines

The Marvels

THE MARVELS Director Nia DaCosta In Talks To Helm Second Movie In 28 YEARS LATER Trilogy

MarkCassidy

Apr 11, 2024 11:04 AM

The Marvels

THE MARVELS Star Lashana Lynch Hopes To Share Screen With These MCU Superheroes

JoshWilding

Apr 01, 2024 04:04 AM

Other

BOB MARLEY: ONE LOVE Star Lashana Lynch On Bonding With Kingsley Ben-Adir Over Their Marvel Roles (Exclusive)

JoshWilding

Mar 23, 2024 11:03 AM

The Marvels

THE MARVELS Star Lashana Lynch Discusses Potentially Joining The X-MEN As MCU's Binary (Exclusive)

JoshWilding

Mar 22, 2024 11:03 AM

The Marvels

THE MARVELS Star Iman Vellani Wants Ms. Marvel To Join The X-MEN In The MCU

MarkCassidy

Mar 15, 2024 01:03 PM

The Marvels

Moon Knight

MOON KNIGHT Gag Reel Sees Oscar Isaac Instantly Regret Punching Himself In The Face

JoshWilding

57 mins ago

Deadpool & Wolverine

DEADPOOL & WOLVERINE: What Happened That Led To Logan "[Letting] Down His Entire World"?

JoshWilding

2 hours ago

Latest Headlines

X-Men '97

Former X-MEN '97 Showrunner Beau DeMayo Says Show Will Address Mr. Sinister's Racism

MarkCassidy

32 mins ago

Moon Knight

MOON KNIGHT Gag Reel Sees Oscar Isaac Instantly Regret Punching Himself In The Face

JoshWilding

57 mins ago

Deadpool & Wolverine

DEADPOOL & WOLVERINE: What Happened That Led To Logan "[Letting] Down His Entire World"?

JoshWilding

2 hours ago

Spider-Man 2

SPIDER-MAN 2 Returns To Theaters - Here's How Its Box Office Compares To Last Week's SPIDER-MAN Re-Release

JoshWilding

3 hours ago

Deadpool & Wolverine

DEADPOOL AND WOLVERINE Rumored To Feature An Appearance From [SPOILER] As [SPOILER]

MarkCassidy

3 hours ago

Deadpool & Wolverine

DEADPOOL & WOLVERINE Trailer Appears To Include An Obscure Variant Of A Classic PUNISHER Villain

JoshWilding

4 hours ago

Hot Headlines

248 comments

DEADPOOL & WOLVERINE Official Trailer Features Ultimate Team-Up & Promises The Wildest MCU Movie Of All-Time!

RohanPatel

1 day ago EST

157 comments

DEADPOOL AND WOLVERINE Trailer Arrives Tomorrow! Check Out A New Teaser And Poster

MarkCassidy

1 day ago EST

90 comments

MADAME WEB Star Sydney Sweeney Seemingly Takes Shot At Hollywood Producer: "Sorry For Having Great T**s"

JoshWilding

1 day ago EST

81 comments

DEADPOOL & WOLVERINE: Every Major Marvel Cameo In The New Trailer - Possible SPOILERS

JoshWilding

1 day ago EST

73 comments

More Sci-Fi & Fantasy ►

X-MEN '97: Rogue Is Out For Revenge In First Clip From Tomorrow's New Episode, Bright Eyes

More Cartoons & Animated ►

LaKeith Stanfield To Star In Film Based On EL PASO, ELSEWHERE Vampire Video Game

More Anime & Manga ►

BLINK TWICE: Channing Tatum Invites You To Pussy Island In First Trailer For Zoë Kravitz's Directorial Debut

More Horror ►

MONKEY MAN Exclusive Interview With Mask Designer Eddie Yang; Dev Patel Film Now Available On Digital HD

More Action Movies & TV ►

Finn Balor Has Reportedly Signed Big Money Deal To Remain In WWE Despite Interest From AEW

More Pro Wrestling ►

Jennifer Lopez Battle An A.I. Simu Liu In New Trailer For Netflix's ATLAS

More Sci-Fi & Fantasy ►

More Cartoons & Animated ►

More Anime & Manga ►

More Horror ►

More Action Movies & TV ►

More Pro Wrestling ►

CAPTAIN MARVEL Directors Reveal Another Way Nick Fury Could Have Lost His Eye - EXCLUSIVE

The fact that Goose was responsible for Nick Fury losing his eye definitely came as a surprise in Captain Marvel, but it turns out that wasn't the only way it could have happened! Hit the jump for details.

The Russo Brothers Directed The Mid-Credits Scene

That Big Twist With The Skrulls

A Linear Approach To Captain Marvel's Origin Story

Goose Was Always Going To Be In The Movie

An Alternate After-Credits Scene

Why Talos Has An Australian Accent

Captain Marvel's Name

The Avenger Initiative

The Tesseract

Annette Bening Wasn't Always Playing The Supreme Intelligence

CAPTAIN MARVEL Concept Art Reveals A Completely Unrecognizable Take On Carol Danvers In 2019 Movie

THE MARVELS Star Brie Larson Shares A Blunt Response When Asked About Her Future As Captain Marvel

THE MARVELS Director Nia DaCosta In Talks To Helm Second Movie In 28 YEARS LATER Trilogy

THE MARVELS Star Lashana Lynch Hopes To Share Screen With These MCU Superheroes

BOB MARLEY: ONE LOVE Star Lashana Lynch On Bonding With Kingsley Ben-Adir Over Their Marvel Roles (Exclusive)

THE MARVELS Director Nia DaCosta In Talks To Helm Second Movie In 28 YEARS LATER Trilogy

THE MARVELS Star Lashana Lynch Hopes To Share Screen With These MCU Superheroes

BOB MARLEY: ONE LOVE Star Lashana Lynch On Bonding With Kingsley Ben-Adir Over Their Marvel Roles (Exclusive)

THE MARVELS Star Lashana Lynch Discusses Potentially Joining The X-MEN As MCU's Binary (Exclusive)

THE MARVELS Star Iman Vellani Wants Ms. Marvel To Join The X-MEN In The MCU

THE MARVELS Star Teyonah Parris Responds To Sequel's Poor Box Office: "I Hope People Give It A Fair Shot"

Popular Headlines

DEADPOOL & WOLVERINE: Every Major Marvel Cameo In The New Trailer - Possible SPOILERS

DEADPOOL & WOLVERINE: 7 Biggest Easter Eggs, Reveals, And Spoilers In The New Trailer

DEADPOOL & WOLVERINE: Rob Liefeld Responds To Trailer's Shot At His Apparent Inability To Draw Feet

DEADPOOL AND WOLVERINE Rumor Points To Larger Roles For Two Particular Characters - SPOILERS

DEADPOOL & WOLVERINE Official Trailer Features Ultimate Team-Up & Promises The Wildest MCU Movie Of All-Time!

Former X-MEN '97 Showrunner Beau DeMayo Says Show Will Address Mr. Sinister's Racism

MOON KNIGHT Gag Reel Sees Oscar Isaac Instantly Regret Punching Himself In The Face

DEADPOOL & WOLVERINE: What Happened That Led To Logan "[Letting] Down His Entire World"?

Former X-MEN '97 Showrunner Beau DeMayo Says Show Will Address Mr. Sinister's Racism

MOON KNIGHT Gag Reel Sees Oscar Isaac Instantly Regret Punching Himself In The Face

DEADPOOL & WOLVERINE: What Happened That Led To Logan "[Letting] Down His Entire World"?

SPIDER-MAN 2 Returns To Theaters - Here's How Its Box Office Compares To Last Week's SPIDER-MAN Re-Release

DEADPOOL AND WOLVERINE Rumored To Feature An Appearance From [SPOILER] As [SPOILER]

DEADPOOL & WOLVERINE Trailer Appears To Include An Obscure Variant Of A Classic PUNISHER Villain

Hot Headlines

DEADPOOL & WOLVERINE Official Trailer Features Ultimate Team-Up & Promises The Wildest MCU Movie Of All-Time!

DEADPOOL AND WOLVERINE Trailer Arrives Tomorrow! Check Out A New Teaser And Poster

MADAME WEB Star Sydney Sweeney Seemingly Takes Shot At Hollywood Producer: "Sorry For Having Great T**s"

DEADPOOL & WOLVERINE: Every Major Marvel Cameo In The New Trailer - Possible SPOILERS

SUPERMAN Director James Gunn Shares New "S" Logo - But What Could It Mean?

Sci-Fi & Fantasy

Jennifer Lopez Battle An A.I. Simu Liu In New Trailer For Netflix's ATLAS

REBEL MOON: Zack Snyder Says Director's Cuts Are "More Like A Parallel Universe Than An Extended Version"

Daisy Ridley Teases The Different STAR WARS Film That Will Hopefully Be A "New Adventure"

Zack Snyder's Animated Norse Mythology Series TWILIGHT OF THE GODS Will Be Released This Fall

DUNE: PART TWO Star Rebecca Ferguson On DUNE: MESSIAH - "I'd Love To See Timothée Turn Into A Worm"

As GODZILLA X KONG Closes In On $500M Worldwide, How Does It Compare To Previous MonsterVerse Films?

Cartoons & Animated Features

X-MEN '97: Rogue Is Out For Revenge In First Clip From Tomorrow's New Episode, "Bright Eyes"

JUSTICE LEAGUE: CRISIS ON INFINITE EARTHS - PART 2 Is Likely To Disappoint Fans Of BATMAN BEYOND - SPOILERS

X-MEN '97: Former Showrunner Beau DeMayo Says Series Will "Touch On" Mr. Sinister's Racism

BIG HERO 6 Producer Reveals Why We STILL Haven't Got A Sequel To Disney Animation's Marvel Movie

KNUCKLES Rotten Tomatoes Score Revealed Along With New Clip Featuring Sonic And Tails

Ella Purnell Says ARCANE Season 2 Will Be Incredibly Tragic As Netflix Preps The Series For Annecy Reveal

Gaming

LaKeith Stanfield To Star In Film Based On EL PASO, ELSEWHERE Vampire Video Game

Comedy Central Orders 10-Episode GOLDEN AXE Animated Series From Mike McMahan And Joe Chandler

FALLOUT Season 2 Will Feature One Of The Game's Most Iconic Monsters

FORTNITE Will Now Let You Block "Confrontational Emotes"

KNUCKLES: Paramount+ SONIC Spin-Off Hits Rotten Tomatoes With An Impressive 88%

Fan Project Estimates GTA 6 Map Size Could Be 2.5 Times Larger Than GTA 5

Anime & Manga

DRAGON BALL SUPER Interval Special Announced By Jump While Manga Remains On Indefinite Hiatus

New Teaser And Key Art For Live-Action TRILLION GAME Movie

Netflix's PARASYTE: THE GREY Is Now Streaming; Here's What The Critics Are Saying

MY HERO ACADEMIA Tops X-MEN '97, INVINCIBLE And More In Social Media Engagement

Netmarble Announces Release Date For New Game SOLO LEVELING: ARISE

KAIJU NO. 8 Reveals Opening And Ending Theme Animations

Horror

BLINK TWICE: Channing Tatum Invites You To "Pussy Island" In First Trailer For Zoë Kravitz's Directorial Debut

THE WATCHERS New Trailer Sees Dakota Fanning Terrorised In Ishana Night Shyamalan's Directorial Debut

EVIL DEAD RISE Director Lee Cronin Shares Gruesome New BTS Photos To Mark Movie's One-Year Anniversary

Happy 4/20! Check Out The Red Band Trailer For New Stoner Horror Movie TRIM SEASON

ABIGAIL Spoilers: Find Out What Happens - And Who Shows Up - In New Horror Comedy

TRAP: First Trailer For M. Night Shyamalan's Latest Spoils The Big Twist

Action Movies & TV