I don't know much about Nick Fury in the comics beyond the basics. This is the first time I've seen the idea of the Jackson Fury being the adopted son of the classic Fury.
I'm not exactly up on modern comics either, but I'm pretty sure I read somewhere that this is the basic idea every since they replaced "Classic Fury" with "Ultimate Fury."
I might be wrong, but it seemed like a sensible enough way to have both exist and retain the WWII & Cold War legacy of the character.
They got Jackson before way back in season 2 for a cameo so I don't think it's completely out of the realm of possibility. He could appear in the 90s segment (presumably the location of the next time jump) which would be circa his time during Captain Marvel. Easy peasy.
That would still require digital deageing which as noted, is waaay outside of their budget range.
Also note that those cameos were *VERY* limited in what they could do. Notice how he scene with Simmons had her stuck in a tube the whole time? Or how he's just standing in a corner of the set with Coulson while Garret monologues? That's because they only had him for very short periods of time (because he's Sam mother-fucking Jackson) and so they had to get all of his coverage with very simple set-ups in the can all on one go, then film everyone else's coverage another day and stitch it all back together in editing. All right closeups on him; no masters.
So yeah, getting him in for a TV show is tricky and expensive. Not impossible, but as noted previously I think they'd rather spend the limited resources elsewhere.
Now an audio only cameo on the other hand would be a lot more doable...plus you could do it in the 70's with no problems. Sam Jackson's voice doesn't seem to have changed much over the decades.
All that said though, you'd think if they had him, it would have leaked by now.
Ah, well, when you put it that way, that doesn't so bad. But to have that happen so late in the game for one of the most beloved characters who hasn't needed superpowers to define herself seems ill-fitting.
The flip side of that is they they need to give Ming-Na something interesting to do besides being stoic and punching people. It also has a kind of thematic sense to it since May has always been the most emotional person on the team, which is exactly why she keeps herself under such tight, regimented control. So taking away both those things seems like a valid place to take the character.
It's not about giving her powers, it's about continuing to explore her character. She's done the stoic badarse, the PTSD veteran, the maternal teacher and most recently, the grieving widow. Rounding it off by having her directly confront who she is and what defines her seems appropriate enough to me.
