First Terrance Howard was replaced by Don Cheadle as Rhody Rhodes, and now Samuel L. Jackson may be cut out of the highly anticipated sequel Iron Man 2. Jackson showed up at the end of the first Iron Man, playing Marvel Comics icon and Avengers leader Nick Fury. He was supposed to play a bigger role in the second film and the upcoming Avengers pic, but that may not happen now, according to an article in The Los Angeles Times.
In the Times piece, Jackson is quoted saying, ‘There was a huge kind of negotiation that broke down. I don’t know. Maybe I won’t be Nick Fury. Maybe somebody else will be Nick Fury or maybe Nick Fury won’t be in it. There seems to be an economic crisis in the Marvel Comics world so [they’re saying to me], ‘We’re not making that deal.”
Jackson also says he saw Iron Man director Jon Favreau at Spike TV’s Scream Awards and the filmmaker said he was writing for him as Fury in the sequel. Jackson’s agents and manager later told him that things weren’t working out. Marvel holds that negotiations are active, but the studio apparently doesn’t want to pay the actor his asking price.
Robert Downey Jr. will return as Tony Stark in Iron Man 2, which Paramount Pictures plans to release in the summer of 2010. Golden Globe winner Mickey Rourke is in negotiations to play the main villain. Sam Rockwell (Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Universe) is also negotiating a villainous role in the pic, and Emily Blunt (The Devil Wears Prada) is in talks to join the cast, perhaps as comic-book femme fatal Black Widow.
