Marvel Entertainment — the studio so money-careful it couldn’t pay beloved comeback king Mickey Rourke more than $250,000 to do Iron Man 2 — has just signed Samuel L. Jackson, the recent star of one of the worst films in history, to a NINE-PICTURE DEAL.
Though an agreement on salary between Jackson and Marvel once seemed unlikely, he’s now locked in to appear as Nick Fury in projects expected to include next year’s Iron Man sequel, Captain America, Thor, The Avengers, and possibly S.H.I.E.L.D. (in which he would headline), with the studio holding options for various sequels to those films (says Nikki Finke: “He got what he needed money-wise“).
Since the guy just turned 60, a few are worried he’ll just be playing Nick Fury for the rest of his life. Given the hilarious pace at which he works, though, we can’t possibly see this taking up more than a year or two of his time.