A significant point of tension in the Infinity Saga was when the Avengers broke up, like a band as Bruce Banner asked about in Infinity War. When this happened, one person who should have made an appearance in Captain America: Civil War was Samuel L Jackson as Nick Fury. The actor not appearing in the film still annoys him, as he expressed in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter.
“I fussed at them, I still fuss at them, about Civil War because I’m like, ‘How could the kids fight and Nick Fury not show up?’” he said. “Like, ‘What’s going on here? Everybody go to your room.’ But they didn’t need me for that. They did, but they didn’t.”
The Avengers were divided about the politics of the Sokovia Accords, which would decrease their freedom to pursue villains worldwide as they would have to report to governments for approval. Some felt they should go anywhere, while others felt they needed some regulation. Even fans were divided, some taking Tony Stark’s side and others siding with Steve Rogers. To not have Samuel L Jackson in the saddle as Nick Fury in Civil War seemed odd as he was the one who formed the team in the first place.
The real reason Nick Fury was not in Civil War
An explanation was given in 2016 by writer Christopher Markus, who explained the reasoning to the LA Times.
“We called him, but he let the line blink,” Markus said. “Primarily it felt like one too many possible opinions. We didn’t want him to take one side or the other, because that’s not his place in the universe. And then we didn’t want another, “Is he still with the government? Is he opposed to the government but supporting the government?” It got to be the potential for a lot more polemic discussion that the movie did not have room for.”
Markus continued as Nick Fury is essentially a parent to the Avengers, and in the film, dad was out of the house.
“He’s the guy who put it together. He’s been the sort of parent figure to the Avengers. Let the parent go away, and see if the kids can handle this. See if the kids can be who they’re supposed to be without that governing voice. Um… and they didn’t do that good of a job.”
Despite not appearing in Civil War, Nick Fury has had plenty of spots in the MCU and will continue his role. He has planned the Disney Plus series Secret Invasion and the 2023 movie, The Marvels.