Samuel L. Jackson IS Nick Fury, again

Just when you thought this ship had sailed long ago, Variety has broken the news that Samuel L. Jackson will in fact return to play Nick Fury in Iron Man 2.

And it gets better.  Not only has Jackson somehow managed to become happy with the terms of his agreement, but now they extend way beyond Iron Man 2.   His deal is apparently long-term, one in which fans might see him as Nick Fury in nine Marvel super hero films, including potentially Captain America, Thor, The Avengers, and The Shield – and potential sequels to all of these.

Considering Jackson was more or less counted out of appearing in Iron Man 2, speculation is now rife that Mickey Rourke may yet get the kind of deal he was looking for too, with many fans seeing Jackson’s signing as perhaps the first step in Iron Man 2 overcoming its casting woes.

No actor has yet been cast as Thor

Marvel have announced that Iron Man 2 will commence filming in April.  The cast is mostly complete, although no announcement has been made regarding the remaining key villains.  With principal photography now scheduled to occur in less than two months, expectations are the final villains will be announced shortly.

Additionally a release date for Thor has been announced as July 16 2010.  Kenneth Branagh (Valkyrie / Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets)will direct the live-action feature film but so far no cast members are attached.  At one point Brad Pitt was rumored for the role, but this turned out to be false.

Matt Morgan in talks for Smallville and Iron Man 2?

According to Wrestlezone, TNA and American Gladiators star Matt Morgan may be in talks to star as a villain in Iron Man 2.  They don’t say much, but according to the report “he can’t talk about it” and “he  attributes the interest in him by casting directors to the work he’s done on American Gladiators. He talks about all the great things that have happened since appearing on the show.”  For some reason the word ‘Rhyno’ came to mind when I read that.

Iron Man 2 isn’t the only super-hero rumor related to Morgan.  According to the same Wrestlezone article he’s also in talks to play Doomsday in Smallville.   The story goes Morgan was trying out for another part that he was too large for, but after trying out they [whoever they are] thought he would make a good Doomsday.   Problem was Dario Delacio was already cast in the part for Season 8.  The work around was to write him in as Doomsday in Season 9.  Or so the rumor goes.

All rumors, nothing official.  I only have one question about this:  do people really care about rumors?

No Iron Man 2 for Emily Blunt, apparently...

Rumor is during E!’s Post Oscar Show Iron Man 2 Director Jon Favreau was asked about the possibility of Emily Blunt playing the Black Widow.  According to The Playlist, a witness to the show claims Favreau replied by explaining that an option had been exercised and that Emily Blunt would be doing Gulliver’s Travels instead.

I really don’t know why anyone cares that much about this news, but people seem interested and so there you go.  Remember, it’s still unofficial although we do know for sure that Emily Blunt’s name is attached to Gulliver’s Travels.

No word was given on who might get the Black Widow role, but I’m sure internet speculation just went up a notch that it will be Scarlett Johansson.

Iron Man

There’s been a lot of talk about Director Jon Favreau’s Iron Man 2 – some rumor, some fact.  But for sure the biggest buzz relates to who the villains will be.

Mickey Rourke captured the limelight with eveyrone expecting him to play the major villain – the name of the villain no one knew (or knows) and it has changed a few times – is it Whiplash, is it Crimson Dynamo?  But who the villain will be has now taken a back seat in favor of the news that Rourke may not even appear in the film. 

To be clear, as it stands Mickey Rourke won’t be appearing in Iron Man 2, although it remains true that he is still in the mix.  The consideration comes down to how much money Marvel are willing to pay him.  It’s looking more and more likely that he’s going to win an Oscar at the 81st Annual Academy Awards for his role in The Wrestler, and Oscar winners command hefty salaries.  With this in mind especially, word is the money being offered for Iron Man 2 is simply not up to scratch.

The problem of salary for Mickey Rourke is surprising to say the least.  Favreau’s 2008 Iron Man release was a box office winner by anyone’s standards, taking slightly more than 50% of The Dark Knights $1Billion tally – that’s no mean feat.  To be specific, $572M is the official figure to date, earnings which surprised many and led to a green-lit sequel without any questions asked. 

With that in mind, know that Marvel only offered Rourke $250,000 for the role, which embarrassingly is the same money 26 year old relatively unknown Matt Smith is being paid per year to play Doctor Who!  Whilst I personally wouldn’t sneeze at $250,000, I’m no Mickey Rourke – it does seem to be a kind of insult to an actor who is sure to win an Oscar.  Still, Rourke’s a major draw card and considering he is still interested, Marvel may yet fold and put the right money on the table.  Maybe they’re waiting to see if he actually does win the Oscar…

Of course, the issues surrounding Rourke relate only to a single villain, but Iron Man 2 isn’t going to stop at just one villain.

The next villain to talk about is Black Widow – the female assassin.  There’s been a few names in the mix for this one: Emily Blunt, Jennifery Tilly, and recently Eliza Dushku (although the latter was more campaigning for the role than actually under consideration as far as I’m aware). 

Emily Blunt has been the clear favorite from both sides of the fence for a long time.  Fans were fairly certain she was a given until news broke that her schedule was too tight.  Without confirmation of when filming on Iron Man 2 will take place, she has been unable to commit – which is understandable.  She may yet take the role because she definitely wants the role, however even now a filming date for the movie has yet to be set.  Without the ability for Blunt to commit, it’s looking more and more likely that the role will have to be allocated to another actress – and with that we turn to Scarlet Johansson. 

Scarlet Johansson may be the Black Widow

Reports surfaced only this week that Johansson was in talks with the filmakers regarding the role.  This one doesn’t appear to be a rumor for the news goes that she has actually met with the filmakers.  Again, nothing is official, but my guess is an announcement will be made very soon that Johansson has scored the role. 

There’s many screaming internet voices hoping that Blunt gets the role, and many hoping Johansson doesn’t, but personally I can see Johansson as a better fit.  In a sense I see Johansson as having a challenge to make this role work whereas I don’t see the same challenge for Emily Blunt.  With that in mind, I also see Johansson as having the talent in her to rise to the challenge.  The result when an actor produces something special for a role thanks to the challenge the role offers is quite often  greatness as a result of broken expectations, aka Heath Ledger in The Dark Knight.  Of course I’m not suggesting Johansson will be able to deliver anything comparable to Ledger’s performance – it’s the principle of the matter that I’m referring to.  In any case I think fans might want to start getting ready for the news that Johansson has been named the Black Widow.

But wait, there’s more. What’s a hollywood movie without Samuel L. Jackson, since he’s in just about everything (or is that Morgan Freeman…).  Anyway, the rumor has always been that Samuel L. Jackson would play Nick Fury (if you’ve seen Iron Man 1 then you know why this was really more than just a rumor).

Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury in Iron Man

Wait, Nick Fury isn’t a villain.  Ok, I’ll drop this one by just saying nope, Jackson isn’t reprising his role in Iron Man 2.  Just like Rourke’s situation, the villain in this case is again the salary negotiations.  In Jackson’s case they broke down and as a result Jackson walked away.  Could this be another Rourke scenario?  Could Jackson return?  I’d say its unlikely, but I do so tentatively because he’s still listed as a possible cast member on the IMDB so anything is possible.  Either way, we’re still expecting the Nick Fury character to have a higher prominence in the movie than a mere cameo.

Now back to the villains – and enter actor Sam Rockell. He’ll be playing Justin Hammer, the arch industrialist rival to Tony Stark and criminal financier rival to Iron Man.  Hammer is a great villain because he’s constantly getting other super-powered creeps to go after Stark, hardly ever doing his own handy work.  Rockell is definitely on board for the role of Hammer, so no rumors on this one.  There’s no complaints about this casting choice.  Rockell, known for his roles in The Green Mile, Frost/Nixon and Matchstick Men, is a perfect Justin Hammer.

And just when you thought that was enough on the villain side of it, there’s one more that hit the news headlines this week – alcohol.

What is perhaps most appealing to fans, for reasons only die-hard Iron Man comic devotees truly understand, is that Iron Man 2 will not sport a super healthy, super perfect hero as Stark was portrayed in the first movie.  Instead, Stark’s fallability is going to be on show as he is forced to deal with the struggles of alcoholism. 

The notion that alcoholism will play its villainous role comes from the movies set designer, J. Michael Riva, who in a radio interview mentioned he had to build a toilet for Tony Stark to puke into.  Given alcoholic issues are a strong aspect of Stark’s demons in the comic, fans have put two and two together. 

I must admit, it’s going to be pretty funny seeing Iron Man puke into the toilet and, according to reports, it will actually be Iron Man (aka Stark in the suit) that pukes.

This article is already way too long, so I’ll end it there.

Iron Man 2 is scheduled for release 7 May 2010.  Iron Man 2 the game (also from Marvel Studios) will be released in the same month.

Everyone thought he’d be the villain, but now it seems Mickey Rourke won’t even appear in Iron Man 2.

“Right now, we’re not doing Iron Man 2,”he told Vulture.

The rumor is they aren’t offering him enough money.   Of course, the caveat in his statement is the ‘Right now’ which may change if the ‘right money’ is offered.  I suppose that means its not over yet.

Emily Blunt, Eliza Dushku, Scarlet Johansson

The role of Black Widow in Jon Favreau’s forthcoming sequel to Iron Man has become a hot topic of late with fans eager to see the right actress picked for the job.  Quite a few contenders have been named, and quite a few actresses eager to get the job, but there are really only three names on everybody’s lips: Blunt, Dushku, Johansson.

According to reports Emily Blunt (Charlie Wilson’s War /Curiosity) has committed to the role, although as official as ‘committed’ sounds, she hasn’t officially signed a contract.  It seems because Blunt has already committed to so many films that are already in production (Wild Target / The Gir l/ The Young Victoria /The Wolf Man /Gulliver’s Travels / Gnomeo and Juliet) her schedule might be full.  Since Iron Man 2 is still in pre-production, a filming date hasn’t been set – meaning Blunt is as yet unable to officially commit to the project.  Many fans want her – so this isn’t good news to them, although small consolation can be taken by the news that she’s still hoping to find the time.   Want and ability are two different things however, and given the sheer volume of work she is currently involved in, a big question mark remains over the possibility that she will, in the end, get the role.

Enter Eliza Dushku (Buffy the Vampire Slayer / Wrong Turn), another fan favorite who arguably wants the role more than any other woman living on the planet.  Dushku made waves when she appeared on the Howard Stern Show to promote Joss Whedon’s new sci fi drama, Dollhouse, in which she plays the lead character.  Instead she promoted her desire to snare the role of Black Widow.  Her comments on the Stern show leave no room for interpretation:  “They’re doing Iron Man 2, I’m so perfect for the Black Widow character, that they just need to get into it.  They need to understand I just learned Russian because I had to play a Russian girl in Dollhouse.”  Yet whilst Eliza Dushku may want the role badly, there’s been no indication that she’s on the short list.

One actress that does appear to be on the short list is Scarlett Johansson and, from all reports, might very well be the actress who gets the job.  According to The Hollywood Insider:

Marvel will not confirm, but sources around Hollywood say Johansson has indeed met with the filmmakers and is interested in taking the role of Russian superspy Natasha Romanoff, who doubles as Black Widow.

And:

Blunt’s reps are still trying to make both projects work, but Gulliver’s is further along, with a start date of April 15. Iron Man 2 still doesn’t have a shooting script and a start date has not yet been determined.

There’s quite a few opinions surfacing about who would be good at what – and of course opinions about who wouldn’t.  Some question Johansson’s acting ability to pull the role off.  Some question the same for Dushku.  Few seem to have a problem with Blunt.   As far as acting goes, I personally don’t have much of a problem with either of them – given the right script and the right direction I think all of them could shine, and it’s pretty obvious they’ll have the right direction. 

When it comes to looking the part, many think both Dushku and Blunt hold the ace and that Johansson is way off the mark.  Take a look at this image and you can see why:

Black Widow (Natasha Romanoff)

But, Romanoff was not the only Black Widow.   Granted, the Romanoff Black Widow is the character we are talking about for Iron Man 2, but there was another Black Widow – Yelena Belova – who in the world of the comic was the replacement for Romanova.  When you look at some of the comic images of the Belova Black Widow, well its almost as if the drawn character was completely modeled from a posiing Johansson.  Take a look at this image and see for yourself (it’s really quite uncanny):

Black Widow (Yelena Belova)

Perhaps this image of the Black Widow is what the producers of Iron Man 2 are seeing as well.  They haven’t taken the script to film yet, so it could be as simple as changing the Black Widow characters name from Romanoff to Belova and bang, Johansson is a dead ringer for the part.  Either way,  perhaps Iron Man 2 is a chance for Johansson to really break out and surprise us all.  Let’s hope so, because all factors considered, the odds are stacked in her favor to get the official nod.

Here’s the latest sci fi news.  There’s isn’t a lot which I suppose makes this an easy read.

Terminator: Salvation – Christian Bale made headlines this week with a dummy spit aimed at the Director of Cinematography on the set of Terminator: Salvation.  The anger episode occurred some time ago but a recorded audio of the event only found its way to the internet this week.  In the audio Bale uses more ‘F’ words than is worth counting and threatens to not only bash Shane Hurlbut but also to destroy his lighting set up.  Have a listen here.  Enough said (and, in my view, hilarious)!  In other Terminator: Salvation news, an image was also released of the T600 (left/below) which looks pretty damn cool.

Heroes - NBC’s Heroes returned this week and recorded strong ratings with Season 3 Episode 14, A Clear and Present Danger (which forms part of Volume: 4 Fugitives).  Despite the strong ratings, I have to review this episode as very average.  The script was poor to say the least and continuing the plot outline of ’super powered people just trying to be normal’ is now quite unbelievable.  That said, after whining about how poor the series had become, the last twenty minutes of the episode really ramped up and set the scene for a potential turn around in what can only be described as a continuing deterioration since Season 2.  If Tim Kring can stop making Hiro seem like an idiot and stop the ‘I just want to blend into society and be normal’ routine, and stop taking away powers from the main characters, and add some common sense to the characters, that’d be a good start.  The last part of this episode sort of started this process.  Let’s hope it continues. Read the rest of this entry »

Battlestar Galactica – Want to buy a full size Colonial Viper?  Your chance is now.  Between January 16-17 the Auction Network are going mad on auctioning off real Battlestar Galactica props.  Not just any old prop either, some very cool and very iconic gear is included in this auction.  No need for me to list the items as there are far too many.  In fact, if you can name it as a prop from the show it’s probably in the auction.  These are the real deal, so if you’ve got some money to burn head on over to The Official Battlestar Galactica Props and Costumes Auction and take a look at what’s up for sale.  Oh yes, and don’t forget, the final eleven episodes begin airing today!

Terminator: Salvation – McG has let more info out about Terminator: Salvation – a lot more.  Linda Hamilton, who played Sarah Connor in the first two movies, will be back.  Not in person, but doing a voice over.  Remember Sarah Connor (John Connor’s mother) was making tape recordings for her son in the 1984 Terminator movie?  Well these will be the recordings we hear in Salvation (freshly recorded by Linda Hamilton).  If that wasn’t cool enough, McG also hints that talks are underway for Arnold Schwarzenegger to become involved – whatever it is it will probably be minor, but it’s looking like he will be involved in some capacity.  Rumors have it that there may be Terminator T800’s sporting Schwarzenegger’s face in the movie, perhaps using some form of CGI capacity. Read the rest of this entry »

Here’s a summary of some of the more interesting sci-fi news of the day.

Virtuality – If you haven’t heard, Fox aren’t happy with Ronald D. Moore’s new sci-fi series pilot.  The story in a nutshell:  Virtuality isn’t mainstream enough and Fox want it dumbed down.  Well, that’s the way I see it without the sugar coating.  Here’s the sugar coated version according to Kevin Reilly, president of entertainment for Fox:  “It [Virtuality] could air as is, and there’s a certain segment of the audience that would flip over it, but it is, I think, right now a little bit too dense.  They shot a two-hour pilot, and I think the storytelling probably would have been served as a one-hour, so they’re going in, and they’re re-cutting, and we’re going to look at it. It’s pretty cool.”   Flip over it?  It’s pretty cool?  There was some doubt as to whether or not the pilot would even see screen time, but after those comments I’d say the butchering that’s been imposed upon Ron Moore is just a delay and not an ending.

Stargate Atlantis – More than 2.02 million viewers tuned in to view the final episode of Stargate Atlantis, making the finale the best performing episode of Atlantis since the finale of the previous season.  Read the rest of this entry »