Samuel L Jackson weighs in on Quentin Tarantino’s Marvel controversy

Samuel L Jackson has challenged his longtime collaborator Quentin Tarantino’s recent critique of Marvel actors and the “Marvel-isation of Hollywood”.

Last week (22 November), the esteemed director made headlines for his assessment of the Marvel Universe and the actors who inhabit those roles, saying they’re “not movie stars”.

Appearing on Tuesday’s (29 November) episode of The View, Jackson – who has starred in several Tarantino films, including Pulp Fiction, Django Unchained and The Hateful Eight – used the late Chadwick Boseman as an example to refute the filmmaker’s claims.

“Chadwick Boseman is Black Panther. You can’t refute that, and he’s a movie star,” said the 73-year-old actor, who has also appeared as superhero Nick Fury in several MCU films.

“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 added. “That’s not a big controversy for me to know that apparently these actors are movie stars.”

Tarantino shared his opinions while on Tom Segura’s Cinema Speculation podcast, arguing that “part of the Marvel-isation of Hollywood is… you have all these actors who have become famous playing these characters”.

“But they’re not movie stars. Right?” he suggested. “Captain America is the star. Or Thor is the star. I mean, I’m not the first person to say that,” he added.

Jackson’s remarks join that of Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings star Simu Liu, who also defended superhero films against Tarantino’s less-than-favourable comments.

“If the only gatekeepers to movie stardom came from Tarantino and Scorsese, I would never have had the opportunity to lead a $400m plus movie,” Liu tweeted.

“No movie studio is or ever will be perfect,” he continued. “But I’m proud to work with one that has made sustained efforts to improve diversity onscreen by creating heroes that empower and inspire people of all communities everywhere.”