Anyone who’s anyone has seen this past summer’s blockbuster Iron Man, and those who saw the after-credits teaser knows that Sam Jackson cameo’d as SHIELD Director Nick Fury. The original character from the comics is a grizzled old white man, but the ‘Ultimate’ line of Marvel comics reinvented many of the characters from the main continuity, including Nick Fury, who was actually based on Sam Jackson. Funny that the actor that inspired the character’s redesign would later portray him, albeit briefly, in a feature film.

Anyways, despite word from the director, Jon Favreau, that material is being written into Iron Man 2 for Jackson’s character, Jackson was quoted as having some misgivings about the role.

“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.’”

Again with the economy? Marvel just barely got their own movie studio off the ground and managed to belt out the uber-successful Iron Man, but now is the studio in financial trouble already?? You’d think that they would’ve made enough money off of Iron Man’s box office earnings (plus merchandise sales) to secure their future, at least for a little while, right? Enough so to make a sequel unhindered, you’d think, but apparently not.

Personally, I’d rather not see Nick Fury in Iron Man 2 at all rather than see the part recast. The updated version of the character is BASED on Sam Jackson, and he’s already portrayed him once, so they can’t recant on that. He’s already been established. I was annoyed with the recasting of the James “War Machine” Rhodes character (another financial issue that resulted in the studios replacement of Terrence Howard with Don Cheadle), but whattayagunnado? I know that the movie WILL get made, and I’m sure that whatever happens it will rock.