First Watchmen now Iron Man 2. Is Fox on some kind of not-so-secret vendetta against superhero movies? If you don't believe in scheduling conflicts, then the answer may be "maybe"...
Variety is reporting that Emily Blunt has been cast by Fox in their new Jack Black vehicle, Gulliver's Travels, but that the scheduling of that movie coincides with the shooting schedule of Iron Man 2, in which Blunt was due to play Russian superspy Natasha Romanoff, the Black Widow. While Blunt's agents work to see if there's a way that schedules can be adjusted to make both of the roles possible, Ain't It Cool has glommed onto Variety's mention of Fox's existing option on Blunt's time (as a result of her time on The Devil Wears Prada) as proof of the studio's hatred of superhero movies:
FOX to eff up IRON MAN 2's Black Widow? Sadly, it looks like it! Or does it? Hey folks, Harry here... I have nothing against this upcoming live-action GULLIVER'S TRAVELS - but it seems that FOX has some sort of contract agreement with Emily Blunt left over from her time on THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA, which could be exercised by FOX (Fucking Over Xtraordinary) Films to keep her from being the astonishingly ravishing Natasha Romanoff aka Black Widow in IRON MAN 2.
Whoever works in Fox's PR department, they really need to up their game; between this and Watchmen, this is twice where Fox are actually in the right, legally, and yet get the crap kicked out of them by fans because of their decisions.
Iron Man 2 is due for release summer 2010.
Blunt, Segel added to 'Travels' [Variety]