There are lots of reasons to be very excited about working with Samuel L Jackson, and one of those reasons is the prospect that at some point he might swear at you. F-bombs don’t come much more glorious than when they come from his mouth, so it’s no surprise that Iman Vellani was determined to get him to swear at her while making The Marvels.
Jackson has kept his notorious love of cursing at bay throughout his time as MCU hero Nick Fury, and we expect he was furious that Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 provided the first Marvel F-bomb without him. When he returned to one of the best MCU characters as part of The Marvels cast, Jackson had to deal with Ms. Marvel actor Vellani, who really wanted him to swear at her.
“I was trying to get him to swear at me for so long… nothing but hugs,” said Vellani on Late Night with Seth Meyers. She also told a story in which Jackson went the extra mile to help her performance – a performance we praised in our The Marvels review.
She said: “I was doing [a] fight scene with him, actually, and I wanted to try something new. So I high-fived him at the end of the scene – creative choices, people!”
Jackson said they wouldn’t use the take because her hand was covering her face, so he suggested she elbow him instead. Obviously, Vellani was nervous about elbowing one of the best actors around and so did it very lightly on two occasions, which got a reaction from Jackson.
Vellani added: “He grabs my arm, and turns to me, and is like: ‘Elbow me, motherf****r!!’ For the record, he didn’t actually swear at me, that’s just how I heard it.”
No dice on the swearing front, but there’s every chance Vellani might get her sweary wish if she and Jackson share the scene again in either Marvel’s Phase 5 or Marvel Phase 6. If she elbows him hard enough while they’re filming one of the upcoming Marvel movies, he won’t be able to resist the urge.
There are plenty of new movies to come in the MCU, of course, with Deadpool 3 among the next ones on the way. We’re also expecting another Marvel series before the end of the year as we land on the What If…? season 2 release date.
Alternatively, find out why Stephen King has decided to defend The Marvels and learn why Captain Marvel is now a new Disney princess. Finally, catch up on everything so far with our guide to the Marvel movies in order.