First Terrence Howard, now Sam Jackson.

When questioned by the Los Angeles Times on his anticipated appearance in the upcoming Marvel sequel IRON MAN 2, Samuel L. Jackson was less than positive about his chances despite his cameo in the original movie, which rocked the box office in 2008:

“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.”

And Sam’s by no means the first on Marvel’s hitlist. Don Cheadle recently took on the role of Tony Stark’s best friend Rhodey Rhodes, after Marvel ditched Terrence Howard when negotiations fell through because of “financial differences”.

Director Jon Favreau also had issues securing his contract for the sequel, leading me to believe that Marvel may well be tightening the purse strings in the light of the current financial climate.

And now it seems like Sam Jackson may be Marvel’s latest casualty:

“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.”

Jackson, who is a fanboy favorite after roles in three “Star Wars” films, “The Incredibles” and “Unbreakable,” was actually used as the model for the Ultimate Marvel version of Fury, which took the white, grizzled, aging commando with salt-and-pepper hair and re-imagined him as a younger, bald African American.

It is possible that he’s posturing for the press, trying to muscle himself a better pay deal, but based on recent events, don’t hold your breath!

Source: Los Angeles Times