4_2_robert_redfordIf you asked me to compile a list of actors who’d definitively never appear in a Marvel movie, The Sundance Kid would be on and near the top of that list. Except Robert Redford’s now confirmed he will indeed be appearing in Captain America: The Winter Soldier, a film chronicling the fall and rise of Cap’s long-thought-dead sidekick Bucky Barnes. Given Marvel’s predilection for crossover appearances, Redford’s is a role that could see significant exposure longterm. That’s because, according to him, he’s playing:

“The head of S.H.I.E.L.D.” (via Spinoff)

To which I say, “But wait? Weren’t those talking heads in The Avengers (led by Powers Boothe) effectively leading S.H.I.E.L.D?” They seemed pretty comfortable telling Nicholas J. Fury how to do his job.

So allow me to float another theory with this Baseless Speculation Toolbox™ I recently purchased from Sears. To really drive home the Winter Soldier arc, a fair amount of flashbacks and time-hopping will be in order. Is it possible Redford plays an earlier Nick Fury? Because a last name like Fury sounds made up, like perhaps a codename. Could he be playing a Nick Fury, or a character like Nick Fury, in a decade other than the one we’re currently in?

And if this proves to be true, would it be socially acceptable to accept David Hasselhoff’s interpretation as canon? Because we’re almost there, but a push is in order: