Last night on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, Samuel L. Jackson let slip that he is participating in auditions between a handful of actresses for a sidekick role in The Avengers. Speculation immediately began flying that this role could be anything from the Wasp to a file manager for Nick Fury.
Around noon today, THR reported the names of four actresses vying for the Nick Fury sidekick role. Among them is Morena Baccarin, the current queen lizard on ABC’s ‘V’ and former cast member of Joss Whedon’s Firefly. Her name had been previously rumored for a Wasp role in The Avengers so the Wasp rumors began to pick up steam.
Shortly after THR’s report, Latino Review’s ElMayimbe began tweeting about having knowledge of this role for months and that he was certain it would not be an “action” role. It would be an administrative-type role and that the actress chosen would likely only be on-screen and communicating with Nick Fury. Think the Covergirl role in G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra.
Given Whedon’s history with Baccarin I’m inclined to believe she’s the frontrunner for the role. She has the screen presence to stand toe-to-toe with Samuel L. Jackson if necessary, and can look sexy in even the most mundane of outfits.
The other actresses confirmed by THR to be in the running are relative unknowns (compared to Baccarin) Jessica Lucas (Melrose Place), Cobie Smulders (How I Met Your Mother) and Mary Elizabeth Winstead (Scott Pilgrim vs. The World).
Whoever is cast is expected to sign a 9-picture deal so they would likely appear in each subsequent Avengers-universe film for the foreseeable future.
