There are a lot of actors who would probably love to be a part of a huge comic book franchise, but there are few who actually espouse those desires publicly. Stephen Lang is one of those actors. In the past, he has shown nerd cred and desire to be a part of a comic book property when he actively campaigned for the role of Cable in Deadpool 2, which ultimately was given to Josh Brolin. But while he seemed well-suited to Cable, there is another character that Stephen Lang would love to play and it's actually one that is already portrayed by someone else...sort of. Here's what the actor had to say:
My favorite Comic Book of all the Marvel series, was always Sergeant Fury and His Howling Commandos. I friggin' loved Sergeant Fury's Howling Commandos and to me it was always like, I want to be Nick Fury.
Let no one ever accuse Stephen Lang of not being a legit comics fan. While far from the most obscure comic book series out there, this is certainly not a modern pick and is less likely to happen than most. For those of you who are only familiar with Marvel characters through their on-screen depictions in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, you may be thinking Stephen Lang is talking about taking on the role played by Samuel L. Jackson. Well, not exactly. Comic book characters who have existed for decades have all undergone multiple reboots and iterations, and had their stories told and retold countless times. So the Nick Fury Stephen Lang is talking about is a different Nick Fury than we've seen in the MCU films.
The Nick Fury played by Samuel L. Jackson in the MCU is based on the Ultimate universe version of the character, which was based on Samuel L. Jackson (art imitating art imitating life). The Nick Fury that Stephen Lang talked about to ScreenRant is the original version of the character from the main Marvel universe who was featured in the comic book Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos. That comic ran from 1963-1981, and featured the titular character leading a band of elite soldiers during World War II. A version of the Howling Commandos were featured in Captain America: The First Avenger, but Nick Fury was not among them.
Stephen Lang is one of those actors who has a unique and badass look that is well-suited to comic book fare, so it is just a matter of finding the right role for him. While I doubt Disney would want to muddy the waters with another Nick Fury, you can never say never, and perhaps there will be an opportunity for this version of the character down the line. Hopefully one of the various cinematic universes will find a way to use Stephen Lang because he is a talented actor who is pretty gung-ho about getting to portray a comic book character.
While Stephen Lang would love to play Nick Fury, and I imagine he would be a great choice for that version of the character, he has his hands pretty full with the Avatar franchise. Despite his character, the villainous Colonel Miles Quaritch, being killed in the first film, somehow he will be returning to be the recurring villain for the rest of the Avatar films, the first of which hits theaters in 2020. To see Stephen Lang in a big property a little sooner, he will be in the upcoming adaptation Mortal Engines, in theaters on December 14. For all of the biggest movies hitting this year, check out our release schedule.
