Nick Fury had a time of it in Secret Invasion. Not only did his pal Talos die in their attempt to stop Gravik and his army of rebel Skrulls from taking over Earth, he lost his right-hand woman Maria Hill, too. But fans should still brace themselves for his sarcastic wise-cracks in upcoming sequel The Marvels.
According to director Nia DaCosta, while his recent experiences have made him "very weary", and ramped up his need to protect Earth (more on that later), his disillusion hasn't caused him to lose his sense of humor – especially when he's around his cosmic comrade Carol Danvers (Brie Larson).
"We wanted to kind of keep that connection to Captain Marvel [the movie] where we saw a lighter side of him, because of his relationship with Captain Marvel," the filmmaker, who co-wrote the film with Megan McDonnell and Elissa Karasik, tells 12DOVE. "Something I really like about Fury is that he kind of shifts depending on who he's with, and I think with these women, he's a much softer Fury."
Also starring Ms. Marvel's Iman Vellani and WandaVision's Teyonah Parris, The Marvels sees Carol, Kamala Khan, and Monica Rambeau forced to form an unlikely team when their light-based powers become inexplicably entangled. As vengeful Kree warrior Dar-Benn (Zawe Ashton) sparks conflict across the galaxy, as she tries to find a new homeland for her displaced people, the titular trio must work together to save the universe. A high-pressure task that Fury knows all too well...
"He's very weary after the events of Secret Invasion. It's a lot, and as we've seen throughout the MCU, he's sort of obsessed with protecting the entire world. It's like, 'How can I do that?' In Winter Soldier, you see him doing some ill-advised things as he tries to be on top of everything. Now he's in space literally watching over the entire planet, so I think [The Marvels is] just a continuation of that."
In Secret Invasion, we learned that Fury had been off-world for a while setting up S. A. B. E. R., a human-Skrull defense organization set up to safeguard Earth from extraterrestrial threats. In the first trailer for The Marvels, it was revealed that Monica is now an agent there.
"Brie Larson and Samuel L. Jackson are basically best friends. I love them together. It's such a sweet dynamic, and I think it mirrors what Nick Fury is to the MCU in that he's kind of like everyone's dad," DaCosta jokes. "He's sort of always like, 'Why are the kids fighting? What's happening? Like, how can I help? Who am I going to get here to do their chores?' He very much is that in this movie for Carol. Also for Monica as well really, because when we meet Monica in the film, she's working for Fury, and then of course, Kamala is like, 'Can you be my Dad, please?'"
Another, much more unlikely, chum of Fury's in the upcoming MCU movie is Goose, Carol's pet and the cat-looking Flerken responsible for Fury's left eye being out of action. 30 years on, though, and the pair have buried the hatchet, laughs DaCosta: "Nick's just a very mature man. He's had time to come to terms and fall in love with Goose again, you know? She did what she did, but he's an iconic-looking man because of it."
The Marvels releases in UK and US cinemas on November 10. Keep your eyes peeled later this week for the full interview on the Inside Total Film podcast.
For more right now, check out the full list of upcoming Marvel movies. Or, if you need to catch up beforehand, you'll need our guide on how to watch the Marvel movies in order.
