Before Samuel L. Jackson ever showed up on the Iron Man set, Nick Fury had already stepped on the silver screen. While some people might not remember it, the mid-90s brought us a host of disappointments in the comics-to-movies business but none more spectacularly disappointing than the 1998 TV movie Nick Fury: Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D starring David Hasselhoff has the titular cigar-chomping hero. And although Samuel L. Jackson has done a lot to shake that from memory, it still gives us fodder to Remake & Reboot a Nick Fury movie.
The Concept:
While the upcoming Avengers flick promises to be the unification of the solo Marvel movies under one banner, a new Nick Fury: Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. film could act as an ideal post-Avengers film to explore the underbelly of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) as we know it. Samuel L. Jackson has been signed on for an unprecedented 9 movies in the MCU and his own film could fit into that mix well. But seeing Nick Fury and S.H.I.E.L.D. as one-and-the-same in all the Marvel-produced movies so far, a starring vehicle should turn that on its head.
I’m talking Nick Fury vs. S.H.I.E.L.D.
Harkening back to the classic 1998 miniseries, this series would see Fury caught in the crosshairs of S.H.I.E.L.D. after getting on the wrong side of his government overseers. Borrowing a storyline from Civil War, Maria Hill would be assigned to replace her mentor and track down Fury while the former Agent goes on a two-pronged mission: avoid his former employer while getting to the bottom of the conspiracy that took him down.
The Director:
Nick Fury needs to be more than the traditional super-hero movie. Just like Kenneth Branagh was brought onto Thor to give it more lofty Shakespearean overtones, a smart spy thriller like Nick Fury vs. S.H.I.E.L.D. should look for their man in Zombieland director Ruben Fleischer. Imagine Fleischer’s slick film-making with copious amounts of insider information scattered across the scene to show one man take down an entire spy organization. Imagine a third of the movie showing Fury infiltrating a Heli-carrier.
The Cast:
Nick Fury / Samuel L. Jackson: Do I need to explain?
Young Nick Fury / Anthony Mackie: Although the majority of the film will take place in the present day, some attention should be paid to the founding of S.H.I.E.L.D. and a young Nick Fury in the 1950s or 1960s. Mackie could work as an admirable Nick Fury, as seen in Notorious or The Hurt Locker.
Maria Hill / Cobie Smulders: Smulders has a lot to prove in The Avengers, but fans of her work in the TV show How I Met Your Mother are rooting for her. TO see more of her dramatic work, check out the lesser known tv series Veritas: The Quest , an IndianaJones-esque caper series from 2003.
Timothy “Dum Dum” Dugan / Neal McDonough: Putting Dum Dum in here would tie things from the 1940s Marvel era seen in Captain America: The First Avenger to the early days of S.H.I.E.L.D. with a young Nick Fury. And imagine him putting on 70 years with some makeup to be a gruff nonagenarian in a bowler hat?
Valentina Allegra de Fontaine / Monica Belluci: In comics she made her debut by flooring Nick Fury during a training session, and she could be an ideal asset to this movie both on the action and romantic tension side of things. As an actress, Belluci held her own in Shoot ‘Em Up and could bring the sex appeal and force to stand up to Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury.
Baron Strucker / Christoph Waltz: Strucker has always vied with Nick Fury, from the WW2 era to the modern day. Although Waltz has played a Nazi before in Inglourious Basterds, there’s no reason why Waltz couldn’t be drafted here to give a darker and more action-oriented approach. And maybe he could bring Strucker’s Fenris twins with him…
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Phil Coulson would have to be in there too, of course. Great suggestions.
I would go see this movie in a hot second. Very cool choices for the villains!
That’s a movie I’d pay to see.
This would be awesome.
It’s funny how much the Hasslehoff movie actually did take from the Fury vs SHIELD series. Quartermain dies at the beginning, it features Alexander Pierce, and if I recall there were several scenes taken directly from the comics.
Thumbs up from me, sounds fun.
LOL! Fantastic casting. Hats off to you Chris. I’d go see that in a second!
So when is the IFanboy staff going to work for Marvel producing and casting their movies?! Seriously Marvel you should be looking HERE for the next big thing!
I dig it. Especially Christoph Waltz as Strucker.
I wish this movie was real.
would this get me the line get these mother f’ing hydra off my mother f’ning helicarrier? 😀
I would see a Nick Fury or a S.H.I.E.L.D. movie in a moment
@convoy83 Damn, beat me to it!
How old is Fury supposed to be? I know the 616 one was supposedly a WWII vet at one time (has that been retconned?). No way a Samuel L. Jackson Fury could be, he’d be too old. Jackson is 62 (I thought in his 50s), so at best he could probably be a Vietnam vet.
if Strucker does make his way into the Marvel film world, ill be upset if Waltz isn.t cast.
@kennyg http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nick_Fury. It explains better than I could hwo and why Nick has not aged since WWII.
Bean
I kind of feel like Samual L Jackson and the film Nick Fury has done nothing to deserve any attention. The character has just been a boring plot device which is used pretty poorly (with the exception of the first after Iron Man scene)
People in the cinema watching the movies are now just responding out of familarity “yay, i know that person, herp derp, yay”
Which is why you give him a movie, a background and adventure would fill out a character that is a blank slate for anyone who doesn’t read Comics.
Make it more Mission Impossible/Bourne Identity with a touch of CIA in Vietnam to get him noticed by Shield.
@kennyg in the 616 Universe, Fury’s stayed the same age by using the Infinity Formula. In the other, Fury was basically the Isiah Bradley (Black Cap) of the Ultimate U, being a subject of Project: Rebirth after getting arrested looting a town during WWII, along with Fisk and Logan.
Christopher Waltz would be genius casting, you can’t not fall in love with his acting, especially in Inglorious Basterds
OMG. Sign me up for this movie immediately. Hey MARVEL, HERE IS MY MONEY! (and give some to ifanboy, they just did all your work for you)