Long before Samuel L. Jackson donned the legendary eye patch,Baywatchstar David Hasselhoff played the famous S.H.I.E.L.D agent in a television movie that could not exactly stand up to today’s lofty standards for the character. ScreenwriterDavid S. Goyerwas involved in the project, although not as much as Marvel fans have been led to believe.
In the late 90s, when the Marvel Cinematic Universe was still over a decade from even being developed, and big superhero franchises comprised of Tim Burton’sBatmanand Richard Donner’sSuperman, 20th Century Fox tried to develop a franchise focused on Nick Fury.
It all started with a film titledNick Fury: Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D., released in 1998 on Fox, which was going to work as a pilot for a potential television series, which as it turned out would never be made. The story followed the popular comic book character, a retired agent who must return to action when the powerful and dangerous organization, HYDRA, threatens to destroy Manhattan with a virus. Unfortunately, the film was not well received, leading to the cancelation of the series before it could even be fully developed as an idea.
Goyer, who worked on the script, was heavily criticized by Marvel fans for his vision of Fury. However, the writer was not as involved as everyone imagines. In a chat with Josh Horowitz on theHappy Sad Confused podcast, he addressed the whole situation, clarifying his role in the project:
“Sometimes people will give [Nick Fury] as a credit or cite that as an example of my not being a good screenwriter. I wrote a script, [but] that whole thing went away. They said, ‘We’re going to do it as a TV movie at Fox, for like three million dollars with David Hasselhoff — taking nothing away from David Hasselhoff. I was like, ‘No. I don’t want any involvement with it, no. Goodbye.’ It was rewritten by God-knows-whom, or how many people, and then there it is.”
Related:Blade: Trinity Was the ‘Worst Experience of My Professional Career’ Says Director David S. Goyer
Nick Fury’s Last Adventure in the MCU Was Not A Huge Hit.
Thanks toSamuel L. Jackson’s portrayal of Nick Furyfrom the very first step of the MCU’s sprawling timeline, the character has become one of the linchpins of the franchise. Secretly working in the shadows to oversee the Avengers Initiative from its conception, there is no doubt that Nick Fury has found a place as one of the most iconic characters of the entire franchise. However, his most recent appearance was not so glorious.
Secret Invasion, which premiered on Disney+ earlier this year, attempted to illuminate Nick Fury’s great journey in the MCUwith a spy story that felt more adult and darker than the vast majority of Marvel Studios productions so far. However, although the intentions were good, the final result did not hit that sweet spot with the majority of fans.Secret Invasionbecame one of thebiggest failures for the studioin recent years despite its incredible cast and the high anticipation for this particular comic arc to play out on screen. For some fans, there were just too many plot holes for the past, present and future of the MCU.
