Paramount PicturesSamuel L. Jackson may be S.H.I.E.L.D.ed from ever having to work again.
The ubiquitous actor is negotiating a nine-picture deal with Marvel Entertainment that would have him playing secret agent Nick Fury in Iron Man 2 and eight other comic-book-inspired superhero films.
Jackson popped up briefly as Fury, who works for the U.S. government's Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement, and Logistics Division, at the end of the 2008 blockbuster Iron Man, when he asks Robert Downey Jr.'s Tony Stark if the billionaire is interested in coming onboard.
A rep for Marvel told E! News the studio "does not comment on active negotiations," but Jackson is said to be a sure thing for at least Iron Man 2, and if all goes according to plan, the Oscar-nominated actor could wind up in Thor, Captain America, The Avengers and their sequels as well.
A S.H.I.E.L.D.-centric action flick is also a possibility, according to the Hollywood Reporter.