Has Marvel’s penny-pinching ways finally backfired on them? We already know that Samuel L. Jackson has scoffed at the money offered to return as Nick Fury and it’s been widely reported that Mickey Rourke’s offer to play an unnamed villain in the film was a “lowball” one (not to mention it appears crystal clear that Terrence Howard was replaced because he wanted a reasonable salary increase).
Well, either negotiations have broken down and Rourke is out or, he’s basically walked away from those talks and the ball is in Marvel’s court to pony up for more dough. Vulture caught up with Rourke last night and asked him point-blank if he’d be appearing in the “Iron Man” sequel. “Right now, we’re not doing ‘Iron Man 2,’ ” Rourke said grimly.
Sound up the alarms. We get a sense that rampant exclamation marks are going to be abused round the nerd herd blogosphere in a few short moments.
PS, fans are obviously asking: why in blazes would Marvel do this?? Chances are David Poland’s “Iron Man” profit margins are fairly accurate and the film didn’t make as much gangbusters money as everybody think. That coupled with a crippled economy hurting everyone’s bottom line, Marvel is likely looking to save, before they are looking to spend.
I’m having a hard time understanding why Marvel is low balling all these actors. This franchise is a money-maker, and I would want the best actors available to ensure that the Iron Man films continued to get better and better.
Going by Poland’s numbers, “Iron Man” wasn’t a huge moneymaker IF you take into account the results of “The Incredible Hulk.” Which is a dumb reason to shortchange this movie, since they want to make at least two more, and will no longer make any Hulks.