Marvel Studios teased S.H.I.E.L.D.'s existence throughout 2008's Iron Man, but it was fans who stuck around through the credits who were treated with a surprise appearance from Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury.
Based on the Ultimate version of the character, he was shown telling Robert Downey Jr.'s Tony Stark about the "Avengers Initiative," setting the stage for Earth's Mightiest Heroes to assemble. We've since seen an alternate version of the stinger with Fury referencing Spider-Man and the X-Men, but another has now been revealed by filmmaker Jon Favreau.
Appearing on Jimmy Kimmel Live! to promote The Mandalorian season 3, Favreau explained that he asked Jackson for an alternate take "just for fun" which he knew "wasn't going to be in the movie."
In that, we see a similar exchange between Fury and Stark, though it ends with the S.H.I.E.L.D. director responding to Iron Man asking who the hell he is by declaring, "Nick Fury, motherf***er." It's a great moment, albeit one we're not exactly surprised didn't make the final cut.
This also just goes to show how much footage Marvel Studios is sitting on that we've never seen.
The studio has become pretty stingy with deleted scenes in recent years, with an Infinity Saga box set revealing loads we hadn't seen from that era of storytelling as well. When the Multiverse Saga concludes, we're hoping another Blu-ray release might include another round of big moments that have been kept hidden for whatever reason.
As for Fury, Jackson will reprise the role in Secret Invasion later this year. He's also expected to appear in The Marvels, though it remains unclear how the two projects will link up.
Downey's time as Iron Man, meanwhile, has ended. Despite that, recent rumours have suggested he might suit up one final time as a Variant in Avengers: Secret Wars...