We’ve already had the Terrence Howard and Don Cheadle recasting saga, and now we could be getting another switcheroo in Iron Man 2 (lol) after hearing the latest from Samuel L. Jackson. He told the Los Angeles Times:
“I saw ['Iron Man' and 'Iron Man 2' director] Jon Favreau at the Scream Awards and we had a conversation. He said, ‘I hope things are working out for you because we’re writing stuff for you.’ Then all of a sudden last week I talked to my agents and manager and things aren’t really working that well.”
“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.’”
I called Marvel Comics and they gave me a statement that suggested that they still want to see Jackson wearing the eyepatch. “Marvel does not comment on active negotiations,” was the boilerplate response, but there was that emphasis on the word “active” in the voice of the spokesman who phoned me back.
Marvel seems to have a habit of not wanting to pay people. There was talk before director Jon Favreau signed up for the sequel that there was an issue regarding money, and Terrence Howard getting the chop seems to be money related also. Could it be that Marvel don’t want to pay millions just for another small appearence by Jackson? Whatever Marvel are doing if they want a successful Avengers movie they need to keep the cast the same. Recasting every time an actor wants a pay rise will not work on screen.
