Spider-Man: Far From Home

Despite disintegrating in the wake of Thanos’s cosmically powered finger snap at the end of ‘Avengers: Infinity War’, Nick Fury is poised to have a big year in 2019. We’ve known for some time that Samuel L. Jackson’s fan-favorite spymaster would be appearing alongside Clark Gregg’s Agent Coulson in a digitally de-aged form in ‘Captain Marvel’, the events of which are set in the 1990s.

And if a glimpse of Fury’s formative years isn’t enough, we’ve now learned (via Vulture) that Jackson will also be appearing in next summer’s ‘Spider-Man: Far From Home’. And that’s not all. He’ll be joined in that film by Cobie Smulders, reprising her role as Maria Hill. No word yet on what role the former S.H.I.E.L.D. heavyweights will play in the film’s story, though an obvious guess is that  ‘Far From Home’ may borrow from the ‘Ultimate Spider-Man’ comics which saw Fury assume what could loosely be described as a mentorship role with regard to Peter Parker, who he was often seemed to groom for future membership in the Ultimates (that universe’s version of the Avengers).

Though whatever their specific role in the film may be, the presence of Fury and Hill in the film is yet another piece of evidence that at least some of the characters who got “snapped” in ‘Infinity War’ aren’t quite down for the count. That being said, it’s every bit as possible that parts of ‘Far From Home’ (or at least the Fury and Hill scenes) could take place before ‘Infinity War’. And for that matter, given that the villain this time around is noted master of illusion Mysterio, who’s to say that any of these characters are actually appearing in the film…?

In addition to Jackson and Smulders, ‘Spider-Man: Far From Home’ will feature returning stars Tom Holland, Michael Keaton, Zendaya, Marisa Tomei, Jacob Batalon, and Tony Revolori alongside newcomers Jake Gyllenhaal, Numan Acar, and J.B. Smoove. The film, helmed by ‘Spider-Man: Homecoming’ director Jon Watts, is set for release on July 5, 2019.