Iron Man director Jon Favreau and Marvel Studios have just shared an unseen version of the movie’s post-credits scene that debuted Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury. Serving as the moment that officially confirmed the birth of the MCU with the SHIELD director recruiting Tony Stark for the Avengers Initiative, this particular moment is still one of the most significant post-credits scenes of all time. However, Favreau reveals another version was filmed that would have been much funnier.
During his interview with Jimmy Kimmel to promote The Mandalorian season 3, Favreau reveals he specifically requested an alternate take from Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury, which he knew wouldn’t make it into the actual cut of Iron Man. You can check out the conversation and newly released clip below:
Nick Fury introducing himself using Jackson’s signature “Motherf***er!” would have been undeniably hilarious, though Favreau himself notes the low likelihood of Marvel ever approving this alternate take for the MCU’s very first post-credits scene.
Could Favreau Have Convinced Marvel To Use The Alternate Nick Fury Scene?
Seeing as the F-word is allowed once in a PG-13 movie, Jackson’s “Nick Fury, motherf***er” would have been perfect had Marvel actually wanted one in Favreau’s Iron Man. However, it likely would have set a different tone for the rest of the future MCU, suggesting that the future movies were potentially for a more mature, R-rated audience. That said, Marvel Studios has gotten away with nearly having F-bombs in future installments.
The MCU has technically had stronger cursing, with F-words being censored, as seen in Favreau’s Iron Man 2 during Tony Stark’s hearing and an aggravated Senator Stern. Likewise, both Spider-Man: Homecoming and Spider-Man: Far From Home end with the movies cutting to the credits just before Aunt May and Peter Parker’s respective WTFs. The same is true for Samuel L. Jackson in Avengers: Infinity War. 10 years later, Nick Fury got half a “motherf***er” before fading to dust thanks to Thanos and the Infinity Gauntlet. While there have been more cases throughout the MCU, there’s never been a full F-word.
Even if Favreau had pushed for it, it’s unlikely that Marvel Studios would have allowed even a partial use of Samuel L. Jackson’s signature expletive. This is especially true so early in the game, as Marvel Studios was still finding its footing and likely not wanting to distract from introducing the shared cinematic universe concept. However, it’s funny to see the alternate Iron Man scene years later, thanks to Favreau, who knew just how hilarious the scene would have been.
Source: Jimmy Kimmel Live