You might have heard that Quentin Tarantino had some words for the MCU. Specifically, the actors that play MCU characters, who, in his mind, aren’t real “movie stars”. Samuel L Jackson, frequent Tarantino collaborator and star of many a Marvel movie as Nick Fury, has weighed in.
He was presented with Tarantino’s take on an episode of The View, where he questioned the perspective. “It takes an actor to be those particular characters,” Jackson says. “And the sign of movie stardom has always been, what, asses in seats? What are we talking about?”
As Jackson sees it, MCU movies are still led by actors who inhabit and embody the roles. Success isn’t as simple as showing up and wearing the costume, just ask Spider-Man actors and Batman actors. To get people truly invested takes the right performer and the right material.
“So, it’s not a big controversy for me to know that, well, apparently, these actors are movie stars,” Jackson states. “You know, Chadwick Boseman is Black Panther. You can’t refute that. And he’s a movie star.”
He makes a strong argument. People might be showing up for Thor movies and such because of the God of Thunder, but behind all the effects and franchising is Chris Hemsworth’s generation-defining portrayal that continues to keep fans enamoured.
At the end of the day, Tarantino has a point in the way everything is becoming more franchise-centric in Hollywood, but that doesn’t mean actors aren’t attracting loyalty. Have a look at our lists of Tom Cruise movies and Dwayne Johnson movies for evidence of that, and check out our guide to Marvel’s Phase 5 for where Jackson might pop up next.