The blogoverse grabbed hold of a pair of stories related to the upcoming Iron Man 2 as Samuel L. Jackson hinted he may not follow-up his post-credits appearance in Iron Man as Nick Fury with a larger role in the sequel and Variety is reporting Emily Blunt may be cast in the role as the Black Widow, also known as Natasha Romanoff (click here for more information on the character).
First for Jackson who was fully expected to have a part in the sequel as Nick Fury, the top dog in a crime fighting organization known as S.H.I.E.L.D. who is putting together the Avengers program. It appears Jackson doesn’t sound so optimistic as he told Geoff Boucher at 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.”
A lot of speculation is then vomited into the piece questioning Jackson’s possible attempt at a larger paycheck following the reported contract troubles between Terrence Howard who starred in the first film as Jim Rhodes and was then replaced by Don Cheadle as a result of entirely unclear circumstances. I could also offer up my own speculation and say Marvel simply doesn’t want the guy who played the Octopus in The Spirit in one of their films. Then again, it could be a diversion to keep the role quiet just as they did with the role in the first film by placing Jackson’s cameo at the end of the credits.
Moving on, Emily Blunt is the latest star to have their name rumored as circling the project as Mickey Rourke and Sam Rockwell are negotiating the possibility of playing villains in the feature.
Blunt is said to be the frontrunner to play the role of Natasha Romanoff, a Soviet super spy who doubles as Black Widow, a beauty in a skintight black costume that is enhanced by high-tech weaponry.
I expect the majority of this to be cleared up soon as production begins in the spring. Iron Man 2 is set to hit theaters May 7, 2010.
