The Nick Fury Movie Marvel Doesn’t Want You To Remember
Before the Marvel Cinematic Universe that we know and love today became ubiquitous, attempts were made years before 2008’s Iron Man kicked off the franchise that we’re now all too familiar with. One notable flop came in the form of a Nick Fury Movie, entitled Nick Fury: Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D., which was first broadcast by Fox in 1998. Though this made-for-TV movie was intended to be a pilot for a possible TV series, it was far from well-received, and has since been long forgotten by many.
Well at the very least, Marvel would like us to forget about this particular Nick Fury movie.
David Goyer, who wrote the screenplay, stated that Hasselhoff understood how tongue-in-cheek Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. was supposed to be, and he did not fail to deliver the goods with his self-aware sense of humor.
Nick Fury: Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. found David Hasselhoff (Baywatch, Knight Rider) taking on the lead role as the titular character, which in hindsight doesn’t seem like the best casting choice. Knowing what we know now, and how well Samuel L. Jackson has done portraying the same character in the MCU, it goes without saying that we wish Jackson was the star of this Nick Fury Movie. But at the time, producers wanted to lean into Hasselhoff’s star power, and they weren’t wrong to have this line of thinking.
Given the campy nature of this Nick Fury movie, Hasselhoff was actually the right choice for the lead role in Nick Fury: Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. David Goyer, who wrote the screenplay, stated that Hasselhoff understood how tongue-in-cheek Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. was supposed to be, and he did not fail to deliver the goods with his self-aware sense of humor.
Though Goyer acknowledges the film ended up being pretty mediocre, Hasselhoff did carry the show, and was reportedly signed on for a number of additional Nick Fury television movies that failed to materialize after the failure of this one.
It’s not that the film was considered absolutely terrible by any means, but rather didn’t really serve the established characters from the Marvel canon in a way that was compelling to your average audience.
This Nick Fury movie centers aon Hasselhoff’s Nick Fury, who at the beginning of the film is retired from S.H.I.E.L.D., and living an obscure life in an abandoned mine shaft in the Yukon. He’s summoned out of retirement when he’s made aware of the fact that Hydra is threatening Manhattan with the Death’s Head Virus, Hitler’s doomsday weapon.
We’re now faced with a race against the clock as Nick Fury and his partners in S.H.I.E.L.D. attempt to track down Viper, Baron Wolfgang Von Strucker’s daughter, in an effort to find an antidote, and stop Hydra’s reign of terror.
As compelling as the plot sounds, this Nick Fury movie garnered a 17 percent audience score on Rotten Tomatoes, and doesn’t even have a critical score that we could reference. It’s not that the film was considered absolutely terrible by any means, but rather didn’t really serve the established characters from the Marvel canon in a way that was compelling to your average audience.
But still, we’re glad that this Nick Fury movie was made, because it’s still a suitable proof of concept that would eventually be revisited in a way that was more memorable.
In other words, Marvel’s ill-fated attempt to make a Nick Fury movie isn’t necessarily a stain on their legacy; it was just something that happened, and ultimately didn’t work out.
The prevailing sentiment, however, is that Nick Fury: Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. was basically a throwaway made-for-TV movie that didn’t have enough legs to continue on as a series. But still, we’re glad that this Nick Fury movie was made, because it’s still a suitable proof of concept that would eventually be revisited in a way that was more memorable.
If you’ve got 90 minutes to kill, you might want to check out what we’ll simply call a Nick Fury movie prototype. Just don’t tell Marvel that we told you about it, because they don’t want you to remember.
