Samuel L. Jackson responded to Quentin Tarantino's criticism of Marvel, saying 'Chadwick Boseman is a movie star'
- Samuel L. Jackson challenged Quentin Tarantino's recent comments about actors in Marvel movies.
- Jackson previously worked with Tarantino on "Pulp Fiction," "Jackie Brown," and "Django Unchained."
The debate about Marvel movies and their place in cinema is raging on after Quentin Tarantino recently said the franchise doesn't make movie stars. His argument is that audiences flock to theaters for the characters, saying "But they're not movie stars. Right? Captain America is the star."
Now Samuel L. Jackson has responded to the comments of the director who he's previously worked with on "Pulp Fiction," "Jackie Brown," "Inglorious Basterds," "Django Unchained," and "The Hateful Eight."
Jackson has had a key role in the Marvel Cinematic Universe as Col. Nick Fury, the man who assembled the Avengers, since 2008. In an interview with The View on Tuesday, Jackson said that actors bring something to those characters that brings audiences to theaters.
He said: "It takes an actor to be those particular characters, and the sign of movie stardom has always been, what, asses in seats? What are we talking about?"
Jackson said he thinks the actors fronting the projects from Marvel Studios are movie stars, using "Black Panther" lead Chadwick Boseman as an example.
"That's not a big controversy for me to know that apparently these actors are movie stars. Chadwick Boseman is Black Panther. You can't refute that, and he's a movie star," he said.
Boseman's performance as T'Challa in "Black Panther" had a significant cultural impact when the film debuted in 2018. The actor, who also starred in "42," "Marshall," "21 Bridges," "Da 5 Bloods," and "Ma Rainey's Black Bottom,"died of colon cancer in 2020, prompting an outpouring of tributes from fans.
The studio has also cast plenty of up and coming stars over the years, elevating their careers to new heights, such as Anthony Mackie, Simu Liu, and Iman Vellani.
"Shang-Chi" star Simu Liu previously hit back at Tarantino's comments, pointing out that the studio has made a efforts to diversify its roster of actors compared to the "white as hell" golden age of Hollywood.