The LA Times caught up with Samuel L Jackson yesterday and hit him up for some juicy Iron Man 2 news. What they got instead is a somber reminder that business and the bottom line always trumps fanboy wishes.
Jackson told LAT that he spoke with his manager last week and negotiations for the role of Nick Fury in future Marvel films, including Iron Man 2, The Avengers and possibly Captain America, have broken down. He shook his head and offered the following potentially bad news.
“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.'”
We’ve already seen Terrence Howard knocked out of Iron Man 2 for presumably monetary reasons. According to reports and hearsay, Howard wanted more cash than Marvel was willing to offer which forced Marvel to find a more economically viable alternative.
The same story may be playing out with Samuel L Jackson right now. The Avengers could already star Robert Downey Jr as Captain America, Ed Horton as The Hulk, and two more high-profile actors as Thor and Captain America. How much cash does that leave for Jackson, who is accustomed to large paychecks, as secondary character Fury?
I’d love to see Jackson as Fury. The image of him in the shadow’s of Tony Stark’s apartment with that eye patch on is burned into my brain. Not to mention the younger bald-headed interpretation of Fury in the comics is based off Jackson. No better choice to fill the role comes to mind.