The studio low-balled him, but then eventually came up a lot and locked in a long-term commitment for Jackson to play Nick Fury in as many as 9 Marvel films, including Iron Man 2. Marvel did the same thing to ICM’s Toni Howard client Samuel L. Rourke happens to be in Russia this week promoting Fox Searchlight’s The Wrestler, and I hear he’ll start researching his new role immediately there. I can also tell you that Sony was considering hiring Mickey to play the villain in Spider-Man 4.
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(No wonder Mickey kept thanking Unger so profusely in acceptance speeches for the BAFTA, Golden Globe, Spirit, and other awards.) But don’t expect Marvel to confirm any of this: they won’t until all the i’s are dotted and t’s crossed on the contracts. After at first being low-balled by the studio to the tune of $250K, Rourke has signed on for the role of the Russian villain in the sequel after his agent David Unger got the quote up to a “significant” level despite this punishing economic climate where the studios are taking advantage of talent. I just heard that ICM has scored its second casting deal for Marvel’s Iron Man 2.
![iron man 2 mickey rourke iron man 2 mickey rourke](https://cdn.imgbin.com/0/12/18/imgbin-iron-man-2-whiplash-mickey-rourke-pepper-potts-others-YGiGgpXM6WVLdgGPzvFPYC0H6.jpg)
![iron man 2 mickey rourke iron man 2 mickey rourke](https://variety.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/Kanye-West-Shania-Twain-Masked-Singer.jpg)
He may not have won the Oscar, but Mickey Rourke is taking his nomination to the bank. Scarlett Johannson Makes “Terrible” Deal To Replace Emily Blunt In ‘Iron Man 2’