With Captain Marvel‘s theatrical release being sandwiched in between two Avengers movies, the beautiful thing is that it can avoid tripping over the bigger questions currently orbiting the Marvel Cinematic Universe due to it taking place in the 1990’s. In other words, it need not worry about who got Thanos’d in order to stand on its own two legs.
So, while we wait to see how this prequel of sorts factors into the grand scheme of it all, we can at least talk about how a young Nick Fury will fit into the picture. Believe it or not, he’ll still be played by the one and only Samuel L. Jackson. It’s a calculated movie to be sure, but seeing as how this guy has been the lynchpin of the MCU since 2008, moviegoers may have a difficult time seeing another actor cast in the role at this point, no matter where the story may fall on the timeline.
While speaking with /Film, Marvel Studios’ head honcho Kevin Feige had this to say about how they intend on making Jackson fit with the period:
“Well, I think having the option is pretty amazing. And I think having the technology and even without spoiling anything, Sam Jackson is shooting a movie for us right now that takes, where he’s entirely 25 years younger the whole movie [Captain Marvel]. So that’ll certainly be the one–”
Now, you may think this technology has come along way since we saw a goofy-looking Patrick Stewart near the end of X-Men Origins: Wolverine in 2009, but I find it impossible to forget that the young Tony Stark we glimpsed in Captain America: Civil War only two years ago looked like a Robert Downey Jr.-Jim Parsons hybrid. That said, we hope Fury’s appearance is a bit more believable.
Captain Marvel opens in theaters on March 8th, 2019.