When the Avengers: Infinity War post-credit scene played out, many people just assumed it was fan-service to set up the Captain Marvel movie.

For those who didn’t wait to see the scene (seriously, why would anyone leave before the end credits of a Marvel movie?), the scene included Nick Fury and Maria Hill. This was huge since the two had not appeared in a Marvel movie since Avengers: Age of Ultron.

Remember, in Captain America: The Winter Soldier, S.H.I.E.L.D. was broke down thanks to the fact no one could stop HYDRA from infiltrating it (although they also got into the Senate as well … but that wasn’t as important, I supposed).

While S.H.I.E.LD. is still alive and kicking in the Marvel ABC show Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., Nick Fury has nothing to do with it. Neither does Maria Hill. However, as the Avengers: Infinity War post-credit scene shows, they still work for someone with some big-time resources.

While the scene was set up with Nick Fury and Maria Hill turning to dust, along with half the beings in the universe, the kicker was that Nick Fury was calling Captain Marvel for help. The original thought process was that it meant nothing outside of giving fans of Captain Marvel something to cheer for.

There is more to it than that.

There has to be.

Nick Fury is not working for S.H.I.E.L.D., but he is working for someone. He was calling for help from Captain Marvel (whose movie will be a historical film taking place in the ’90s with a de-aged Nick Fury and Agent Coulson). That is all the evidence we need to know what this post-credit scene means.

Nick Fury works for S.W.O.R.D. now.

S.W.O.R.D. is the Sentient World Observation and Response Department — something hinted at near the end of the first Thor movie. It is an organization where — like S.H.I.E.L.D. defending continents from global threats — it is an organization that defends the Earth from galactic threats.

Captain Marvel is a part of S.W.O.R.D.

When Nick Fury was ousted from S.H.I.E.L.D. during the HYDRA attack, he went somewhere. As the upcoming Captain Marvel will show, he was there when Carol Danvers became a hero. If he is part of an organization now that has a direct comlink to Captain Marvel — Nick Fury is part of S.W.O.R.D.

That should also play strongly into the fact that Marvel has already said they will make a lot more cosmic movies under the leadership of James Gunn. Hinting at S.W.O.R.D. in the Avengers: Infinity War post-credits could be the start of that.