The first post-credits scene with Nick Fury is a funny alternate take, which Iron Man director Jon Favreau and Marvel Studios have shared.
Director Jon Favreau of Iron Man and Marvel Studios have today released a previously unreleased cut of the film's post-credits scene, in which Samuel L. Jackson made his Nick Fury debut. This specific scene, in which the SHIELD director recruits Tony Stark for the Avengers Initiative, serves as the moment that formally confirms the beginning of the MCU, and it is still one of the most important post-credits moments ever. Favreau adds, however, that a far funnier version was actually filmed.
In an interview with Jimmy Kimmel to promote The Mandalorian season 3, Favreau admits that he explicitly asked Samuel L. Jackson to play Nick Fury in an alternate take, knowing that it wouldn't be used in the final version of Iron Man.
For the MCU's very first post-credits sequence, Nick Fury announcing himself with Jackson's trademark "Motherf***er!" would have been unquestionably hilarious, albeit Favreau himself recognizes the little probability that Marvel would ever approve this alternative take.
.@SamuelLJackson’s Iron Man post-credits scene! (MOTHERF***ER EDITION) @Jon_Favreau pic.twitter.com/bwgKwoXjIU
— Jimmy Kimmel Live (@JimmyKimmelLive) March 2, 2023
Was it possible for Favreau to persuade Marvel to use the alternate Nick Fury scene?
Jackson's "Nick Fury, motherf***er" would have been ideal had Marvel truly wanted one in Favreau's Iron Man given that the F-word is permitted once in a PG-13 film. It would have, however, probably set a distinct tone for the remaining MCU films, indicating that they might have been intended for an R-rated audience who were more mature. Yet, Marvel Studios has gotten away with almost using F-bombs in later films.
Although F-words are prohibited, the MCU has historically included greater cursing, as demonstrated in Favreau's Iron Man 2 during Tony Stark's hearing with an irate Senator Stern. Just before Aunt May and Peter Parker's respective WTFs, the credits of Spider-Man: Homecoming and Spider-Man: Far From Home are cut off. Samuel L. Jackson in Avengers: Infinity War had the same thing. Ten years later, Thanos and the Infinity Gauntlet allowed Nick Fury to receive half a "motherf***er" before he turned to dust. Although there have been more instances throughout the MCU, no entire F-word has ever been used.
It's unlikely that Marvel Studios would have permitted even a partial usage of Samuel L. Jackson's infamous expletive, even if Favreau had fought for it.
This is particularly true at this early stage when Marvel Studios was still getting its bearings and probably didn't want anything to detract from the shared cinematic universe concept's introduction. The alternate Iron Man scenario is amusing to see now, years later, due to Favreau, who understood how absurd the scene would have been.
Source: Jimmy Kimmel Live
