There are so many summer blockbuster tentpoles luring audiences to theaters at the moment, and some are doing better than others at the box office. But while DC and Indiana Jones are currently entertaining crowds, and Christopher Nolan is on his way with Oppenheimer, Marvel Studios has been quiet since James Gunn’s Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 kicked off the season in May. At least on the big screen. Secret Invasion, however, has been entertaining audiences with a Disney+ subscription, and has been a remarkable showcase for Samuel L. Jackson and his powerful hero, Nick Fury. Who is still capable of breaking off terrific one liners.
We have seen two episodes of Secret Invasion so far, and the show has laid the groundwork for a devastating infiltration of the MCU by the shape-shifting Skrulls. At the end of episode 2, we learned something very important about Nick Fury, and also got a terrific scene between Samuel L. Jackson and Don Cheadle, playing James Rhodes. During it, Fury dropped a killer line on Rhodey after being fired, telling him, “I’m Nick Fury. Even when I’m out, I’m in!”
I had to bring up that line to Samuel L. Jackson when we sat down to discuss Secret Invasion, and the status of Nick Fury in the MCU now that he’s out (so to speak). And he told us, about that line:
Let’s try to figure out where this Nick Fury line would rank on the grand scale of Sam Jackson one liners. There are nearly 100 to choose from, and they include everything from, “Hold on to your butts” (from the legendary Jurassic Park) to the iconic, “I have had it with these motherfucking snakes on this motherfucking plane!” I don’t know if the Nick Fury line cracks the Top 10. But when it comes to other lines spoken by Fury in the MCU, it has to be pretty high. However, I am partial to the way that Fury went out in the mid-credits scene of Avengers: Infinity War. Remember this scene?
We are due another episode of Secret Invasion this week, and we will be very curious to see what happens following that big reveal about the secret that Nick Fury keeps at home. Is that a game changer? Or the latest step in the evolution of the hero? Because we know that Fury is part of The Marvels, which makes it confusing where on the MCU timeline that story takes place. Marvel Studios has to work out a few of its details as it approaches the slate of upcoming Marvel movies heading to theaters. Stay with us for details as they drop.