Emily Blunt is close to being tapped to play the Black Widow in Iron Man 2, according to Variety.  Blunt’s past roles include The Devil Wears Prada and Charlie Wilson’s War.

Samuel Jackson, on the other hand, who had a cameo as Nick Fury in Iron Man and appeared to be set to play the character in the sequel and in other Marvel films, told Geoff Boucher at the LA Times that negotiations with Marvel “broke down,” although the situation does not appear irretrievable. 

The cast of Iron Man 2 does include the returning Robert Downey Jr. (see “Downey, Jr. Re-ups with Marvel”), Don Cheadle (see “Don Cheadle Replaces Terrence Howard”), and Mickey Rourke (see “Mickey Rourke in Iron Man 2”).