Nick Fury: Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. (stylized as Nick Fury: Agent of SHIELD and Nick Fury: Agent of Shield) is a 1998 American television superhero film based on the Marvel Comics character Nick Fury. It was first broadcast on May 26, 1998, on CBS, intended to be a backdoor pilot for a possible new TV series. Written by David Koepp, and directed by Sam Raimi, the film had a $6 million production budget. It stars Bruce Campbell as Nick Fury, a retired super spy who is approached to return to duty to take down the terrorist organization HYDRA, who threaten to attack Manhattan with a pathogen they have reconstituted known as the Death's Head virus. Julia Louis-Dreyfus plays Contessa Valentina "Val" Allegra de Fontaine, and Sandra Hess plays Andrea von Strucker/Madame Hydra/Viper. It was released on DVD on July 3, 2007. The film was met with a largely negative reception.