Sam Jackson Is Nick Fury

Yes, I was just the other day complaining about how I'm not a fan of Marvel's "Ultimate Universe" version of eye-patched comic book spy Nick Fury, whose likeness is based on Samuel L. Jackson. Well, now Jackson will forever be identified with the character in the public eye, as AintItCool reports he'll be playing him in next summer's Iron Man. Since he is, undeniably, one of the coolest actors on the planet, he's sure to become the Sean Connery of Nick Fury, and will prove a very tough act to follow. Marvel had been developing a Nick Fury movie on its own, and presumably Jackson's Iron Man cameo is laying the groundwork for him to reprise the role in that movie as well. I question the logic of casting an actor who's pushing sixty in terms of potential franchise longevity. I guess it means that the Fury of the movies will play more the M role that he does in the Ultimate Universe than the Bond role he did in Steranko's classic Nick Fury, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. series. Will Smith, who was previously rumored for the role, probably would have been more of the latter.

Still, Ultimate Fury is pretty cool, even if he's not the real Nick Fury. And everything else about the Iron Man movie (including the casting of Robert Downey Jr. in the title role) sounds awesome, and the mere idea of Fury popping up in the movie is neat. And I'd hate to sound like one of those "CraigNotBond" whiners, so I'll shut up for now and give Jackson the benefit of the doubt until the movie comes out.