Marvel was initially worried that Samuel L. Jackson might sue them for using his likeness as Nick Fury, years before he was cast as Nick Fury

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Today fans around the globe recognize Samuel L. Jackson as Marvel’s Nick Fury, In 2002, it was a different story. 

In the original Marvel Comics, Nick Fury was depicted as a middle-aged white man. However, when Marvel began reimagining their iconic heroes for the Ultimate Universe, they turned to Hollywood for inspiration. Mark Millar and Bryan Hitch sought to make The Ultimates seem more cinematic, so they modeled the characters after various celebrities. This led to Nick Fury being drawn as Samuel L. Jackson. Problem is, they didn’t ask the actor’s permission. THe comic creators said it was okay, however, this move made Marvel editorial nervous.

Speaking to a panel at Tampa Bay Comic Convention, former Marvel editor Ralph Macchio recalled his initial reaction to Ultimate Nick Fury. “Of course, you have the Samuel L. Jackson thing. When I was working on Ultimates, I talked to Bryan Hitch and said, ‘You know, we haven’t got approval from Samuel L. Jackson to use his likeness.’ And Bryan Hitch goes, ‘I have connections with the man, it’s okay, don’t worry about it.’ And luckily enough later he decided not to sue us, and he was the guy who was picked to play Nick Fury.”

“We had quite a collection of characters,” Hitch continued. “I loved working on them because these were not the Avengers. And of course if I was editing the Avengers, which I did for many years, we would never let that happen to any of the mainstream characters. For these characters, there was just something really cool about the mixture and the fact that they could be like this. 

According to a ScreenRant interview with Jackson, he was unaware that his likeness had been used until he saw the comic. Luckily he was flattered by the portrayal, and wound up playing the role of Nick Fury in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Thank goodness Hitch was able to talk Macchio into it.

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