Samuel L. Jackson Teases Return As Nick Fury In New BTS Photo

There is but one unifying force behind the Avengers Initiative and that is Samuel L Jackson as Sergeant Nick Fury of S.H.I.E.L.D. A lot has certainly changed for the character since his first appearance in 2008's "Iron Man." Way back then, was when Fury first announced that he was putting a team together — and he most certainly did.

For the next decade, the MCU's entire destiny hinged on Fury's ability to take all these disparate characters and ally them against the greatest dangers the Earth — and, indeed, the universe — have ever known. Things don't always work out, but even when S.H.I.E.L.D. was infiltrated by Hydra, or the Avengers split apart over the Sokovia Accords, and even after the events of "Avengers: Endgame" saw the deaths of multiple members of the Avengers team, Fury weathered it all.

That being said, it's been a little while since we've seen Jackson as Nick Fury in the flesh. We thought we saw him throughout "Spider-Man: Far From Home," but it turned out we were seeing a Skrull in disguise. It was only at the tail end of the film that we saw Fury — in space.

Since then we've gotten hints of Fury's presence like when Monica Rambeau (Teyonah Parris) encounters the Skrulls at the very end of "WandaVision." And we heard his voice in the debut Captain Carter episode of "What If...?" But it wasn't until just now that we saw official, physical confirmation that, yes, Samuel L Jackson as Nick Fury is officially back in the flesh.

Theories have been circling around Nick Fury's future, but most people agree it will probably have something to do with the space-bound incarnation of S.H.I.E.L.D. called S.W.O.R.D. And with that in mind, we got our very first look at Fury's return thanks to the man himself, Samuel L Jackson.

Jackson recently took to Instagram to post a photo, not of himself (at least not at first), but of Nick Fury's iconic facial hair. Yes, it turns out the mustache, beard, and little soul patch aren't really his, but try to gird your loins.

Along with the first photo, Jackson wrote, "Guess what time it is! Back in the box, just in The Nick of time! #rested&readytogo #whoyagoncall." However, most important of all may be the two photos that follow of Jackson wearing a t-shirt of Fury's hand dissolving as he uses his Captain Marvel beeper at the very end of "Avengers: Infinity War."

There is some speculation as to whether Jackson is suiting up for "Secret Invasion" or "The Marvels." While we can't confirm one way or another, it is worth noting that, in addition to Jackson wearing a Captain Marvel t-shirt, we did just find out that production is officially in full swing on "The Marvels."