Classic MCU character will finally return in Fantastic Four, reports say

With the Multiverse Saga in full swing, Marvel Studios has been gifting us with some incredible moments in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. From Patrick Stewart's return as Professor X in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness to the comebacks of both Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield's Spider-Men in Spider-Man: No Way Home, it's been full of limitless possibilities.

We're seeing that even more recently with the game-changing Deadpool and Wolverine, which brought both of these Fox/X-Men characters into the MCU for the first time ever. And the franchise is about to do it again with more beloved Marvel Comics characters in The Fantastic Four: First Steps, which arrives in movie theaters next year.

It also sounds like it could feature one of the MCU's longest-standing characters.

Nick Fury rumored to return in the MCU's Fantastic Four movie

A new report from Marvel insider account Marvel Updates claims that Nick Fury will appear in The Fantastic Four: First Steps. It doesn't say what role he might play or whether the role is a cameo or a more significant appearance, but the fact remains that if he does show up, it will likely have some major repercussions on the rest of the franchise.

Since Iron Man, Nick Fury has been part of the glue that held the MCU together, surfacing a lot in the early chapters, particularly in post-credits scenes for the first wave of movies in a bid to unite The Avengers for the first time. He then became a friend for them to turn to when they - or he - needed help.

What's also interesting is that the report doesn't mention whether Samuel L. Jackson would reprise the role. Fans have already begun speculating in the comments below the rumor as to whether another actor could play the role on this occasion as Fantastic Four is expected to be set in a different time and universe from the rest of the MCU, meaning that any Nick Fury who appeared would likely be an alternate version of the character specific to that particular earth.

But then again, this is the Multiverse Saga so it wouldn't be too unbelievable if Fury figured out a way to hop to another universe to begin recruiting new heroes to help them in the upcoming Multiversal war against Doctor Doom. In fact, the cast of the Fantastic Four have already been confirmed for appearances in Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars, so we know they will be crossing over with the characters of the MCU at some point; could Fury be involved in that crossover?

We last saw Jackson's Nick Fury in 2023's The Marvels when he aided Captain Marvel, Ms. Marvel, and Photon in their fight against Dar Benn. Prior to that, he starred in his own TV series for the first time ever, headlining the thriller Secret Invasion which saw him engaged in a war against an army of Skrulls, who sought to eradicate humanity and take over planet Earth.

The Multiverse Saga hasn't really found a place for the character in the same way that the Infinity Saga did, so perhaps having him act as a multiversal recruiter could be the solution to that problem. Then again, maybe it's a different version of Nick Fury that could appear in this movie, or perhaps this is just a rumor that won't pan out in the finished version of the film. We'll have to wait and see.

The Fantastic Four: First Steps arrives in movie theaters on July 25, 2025.