Summary
WhileCaptain America: Civil Warand its whole home phase and saga are firmly behind the Marvel Cinematic Universe, one of the franchise’s biggest stars is still upset about one major oversight that could have changed the whole direction of the film for the better.
Captain America: Civil Warmarked the third entry in theCaptain Americafilm series and gave moviegoers a unique value proposition: despite the film being branded as aCaptain Americaproject, it heavily featured other MCU heroes, most notably Robert Downey Jr’s fan-favorite Tony Stark/Iron Man, in a more morally complex situation than previous films had shown. While the plot of the film falls well short of being a proper adaptation for the stellar comic book event that it took its name from, the core friction between Captain America and Iron-Man plays out the same way, leading these allies to duke it out and other heroes to pick sides. While not representing the most perilous stakes,Kevin Feige made it clear just how influentialCaptain America: Civil Warwould be on the MCU’s future.
Despite this importance and the potential for influencing the narrative behind the franchise, there was one massive presence notably absent from the chaos of Civil War, and his absence might have been to blame for the entire debacle. In an interview withGQposted to the official GQ YouTube channel that covered the legendary actor’s most iconic characters, Jackson lamented MCU mainstay Nick Fury’s absence from certain projects and scenes, such asFury missing out on visiting Wakanda, before turning his attention toCaptain America: Civil Warand commenting on an issue that some fans have noted before. “I thought that about Civil War,” Jackson commented. “-when the kids were fighting. I said, ‘The kids are fighting, and I’m not gonna go and make them go to their room?’ No. How’s that make sense?”
Some might remember thatJackson has previously aired this grievance about hisCivil Warabsencein a different interview, and here he reiterates it as the franchise continues to see new and impactful events happen in and insular manner. Fans are left questioning why certain events don’t draw other big MCU players that they would realistically expect to be interested in whatever is going on. While there’s sometimes a readily available reason for a character’s absence from an MCU project (such as being chased through the Multiverse by a Scarlet Witch), Fury seems to be one that should have his invisible hand hovering over every situation, real or imagined. With that in mind, the fact that he didn’t interfere in the events ofCaptain America:Civil Waris actually mind-boggling and should’ve invited a lot more questioning and on-screen justification.Captain America: Brave New Worldseems set to blend the last twoCaptain Americafilms, andit’s pertinent to think about what that might look like if things had gone Fury’s way instead of the highway.
Jackson has already teased Nick Fury’s future afterSecret Invasion, meaning that the character will have several chances to play arbiter to the MCU’s new, messier band of heroes going forward. Fury will also be one of the more interesting characters to see across from Robert Downey Jr’s Doom, as many of the other MCU originals are no longer reprising their roles from the pre-Endgame era. Fans can look forward to that and much more in short order as the MCU continues its climb back toward peak fan interest.
Captain America: Civil Waris available to stream on Disney+.
Captain America
Captain America, created in 1940 by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby has become an icon of Marvel Comics. Acting as a major figure in the pages of comics while battling against foes like the Red Skull, Captain America has since jumped to the big screen to appear in various Marvel Cinematic Universe movies.
