Summary
A longstanding myth among Marvel fans is that George Clooney passed on starring in aNick Furymovie in the early 2000s after reading Garth Ennis' brutalFuryseries from 2001. In an interview,Ennis dismissed the notion, suggesting it was highly unlikely his work had any influence on the development of aFuryfilm– and that he doubts his series ever made it into the A-list actor’s hands.
Inan interview with Comic Book Herald, released on on YouTube, Garth Ennis responded to a question from host Dave Buesing, asked him if he’d ever heard the rumor about Clooney. “I did hear that,” Ennis replies, “and I’d be fascinated to learn if it was true.”
Ennis offered a more realistic alternative to the story: that among the many factors that resulted in aNick Furymovie never materializing – with or without George Clooney – his violent miniseries likely did not even make the list.
Garth Ennis and his artist onFury, Darick Robertson, subsequently co-createdThe Boystogether; initially published by an imprint of DC Comics, the gory, gritty series became a massive success for its second publisher Dynamite Entertainment.
Marvel Finally Corrects What the MCU Got Wrong About Nick Fury
The MCU replaced Nick Fury as leader of the Howling Commandos in Captain America: The First Avenger, but the comics have reinstated him.
Garth Ennis Dispels The Myth That His Writing Kept George Clooney From Playing Nick Fury
Fury#1-6 – Written By Garth Ennis; Art By Darick Robertson, Jimmy Palmiotti, Avalon Studios, Richard Starkings & Wes Abb
For his part, however,The Boys’Garth Ennis finds the whole thing to be blown wildly out of proportion, highlighting how a George Clooney-starringNick Furymovie likely would have gone in a very different direction.
Fury#1-6 was released from Sept. 2001-Feb. 2002. Around the same time, theUltimateversion of Nick Fury, modeled after Samuel L. Jackson, was introduced; it was this incarnation of the character that finally made it ot the screen inAvengers.
Ennis offered his takeon what might have happened:
“If it’s true that(Clooney)decided against playing Nick Fury on the basis of thatFurybook that I did with Darick(Robertson)- which is still one of my favorites, by the way - I would find that highly amusing and entertaining. But also I wonder if it might have been more that… perhaps someone said to him, some advisor or other, ‘You don’t want to go near this.’”
In 2001, theFuryminiseries was one of the inaugural launchtitles of Marvel’s MAX line. Depicting the S.H.I.E.L.D. director as a grizzled veteran looking for a new battlefield now that the Cold War was over, Fury gets his wish when he learns that former HYDRA agent Rudi Gagarin has invaded a small island to relive the “glory days” and stage his own violent war games. The series took the “Mature Readers Only” label to heart, pushing the violence and explicit content further than any other Marvel title at the time.
For instance, a climactic scene features Fury strangling enemy Gagarin with his own intestines. Clooney supposedly passing on the role of Nick Fury because of the ultra-violent comic had major ramifications for Marvel moving forward. Two other MAX titles,DeathlokandAnt-Man, were each canceled before they were published, reportedly due to both properties having films in development. For his part, however,The Boys’Garth Ennisfinds the whole thing to be blown wildly out of proportion, highlighting howa George Clooney-starringNick Furymovie likely would have gone in a very different direction:
It’s very hard to believe that, were there to have been a Nick Fury movie at that time, it would have remotely resembled anything that I wrote.
Ennis stated in the interview that he finds it hard to believe that Clooney ever even read hisFuryseries, stating,“I suspect that if you asked George Clooney…he would probably tell you that he never even saw the comic.”
He Would Be “Fascinated” To Learn Otherwise
Ennis is currently writingNick Fury in the pages ofGet Fury, a Vietnam War-era storyline which sees Frank Castle assigned to assassinate the old war vet.
Ennis stated in the interview that he finds it hard to believe that Clooney ever even read hisFuryseries, stating,“I suspect that if you asked George Clooney…he would probably tell you that he never even saw the comic.“Garth Ennis himself returnedto the character multiple times in the years since, writing further stories such asFury: My War Gone By. Whether it’s true that George Clooneypassed on theNick Furyrole because of his ultraviolent MAX series, or not, it’s nice to know Garth Ennis still gets the chance towrite the character at Marvel.
The Boys
Cast
The Boys is a gritty and subversive take on the superhero genre, focusing on a group of vigilantes who confront powerful superheroes abusing their abilities, exploring themes of corruption and moral ambiguity in a world where heroes are not always what they seem.
