Samuel L. Jackson No Longer Bringing Fury for ‘Iron Man 2′
Posted by Adam Sweeney (adam@filmschoolrejects.com) on January 26, 2009
Iron Man fans were in a frenzy when they heard the film sequel wouldn’t feature Terrence Howard. How will they react now that Samuel L. Jackson appears to be getting short-changed also?
In an interview with IGN, everyone’s favorite BAMF discussed the possibility of him making a return as Nick Fury in Iron Man. It doesn’t look good, and this time the blame may be on Marvel Studios.
“I would love to do it. I’m not sure that they would love for me to do it. It seems as though they’re having money problems,” Jackson said with a grin. He continued by saying, “they’re caught up in the economic crisis also. Iron Man 1 didn’t make much money, so they can’t afford to pay the rest of us anymore.”
Jackson is likely aware that Iron Man made over $582 million worldwide at the box office. Even with a $140 million budget, there is no way that Marvel didn’t bank off of it. Newsflash to Marvel; Samuel L. played Shaft, he doesn’t like getting the shaft. You can watch the clip here. It would have been great to know how much Jackson wanted in relation to what Marvel was offering.
The comments are contrasting from previous thoughts laid out by the Academy Award nominee, which is a shame. Jackson spoke with MTV in July about his much hyped cameo at the end of the Iron Man credits, explaining that he was, “looking forward to going to work soon” as Fury, likely appearing in myriad Marvel comic films including Iron Man 2, Captain America, Thor and The Avengers. That all changed once negotiations started.
Marvel is trying to steer clear of high salaries for actors, a notion given weight after they replaced Terrence Howard with Don Cheadle. They also have reportedly only offered Mickey Rourke $250,000 to take a role as a villain, and are expecting Jackson to take a pay cut as well. We’re all excited to see an Iron Man sequel, but could Marvel be killing the momentum of the first film by undercutting their talent? We sure hope not. They’ve done a great job of taking ownership of the Iron Man and Hulk franchises in 2008. It’d be a shame to watch them throw it all away. Maybe Marvel execs should start wearing WWTSD bracelets, as in “What would Tony Stark do?”
Should Samuel L. Jackson take a pay cut? Who’s in the wrong here; the actors or Marvel Studios?
Read more articles by Adam Sweeney
