Samuel L. Jackson Believes Marvel Actors Are Real Movie Stars

Like a presumed-dead supervillain making a surprise appearance in a post-credit scene cameo, the "are Marvel movies cinema?" discourse has once again returned.

Following on from Quentin Tarantino's comments last week in which he decried the "Marvelization" of Hollywood and stated that superhero actors like Chris Hemsworth "are not movie stars," MCU mainstay Samuel L. Jackson has entered the fray.

"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?" said Jackson during a recent appearance on The View. "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."

The debate around whether or not superhero movies—and Marvel films in particular–deserve to be credited as "cinema" began in 2019, when filmmaker Martin Scorsese said that he sees them as being closer to theme park attractions. His fellow auteur Francis Ford Coppola went one further and called Marvel movies "despicable," saying: "We expect to learn something from cinema. We expect to gain something—some enlightenment, some knowledge, some inspiration. I don't know that anyone gets anything out of seeing the same movie over and over again."

In contrast, Tarantino's words are relatively tame, and he did clarify that his main issue with the MCU is that it dominates pop culture and there are fewer original movies being made as a result. "I used to collect Marvel comics like crazy when I was a kid," he said. continued. "There’s an aspect that if these movies were coming out when I was in my twenties, I would totally be fucking happy and totally love them. I mean, they wouldn’t be the only movies being made. They would be those movies amongst other movies. But, you know, I’m almost 60, so yeah. No, I’m not quite as excited about them."

You Might Also Like

• The 16 Best Men's Gifts From Oprah's Favorite Things 2022

• The Best Hair Growth Shampoos for Men to Buy Now

• 25 Vegetables That Are Surprising Sources of Protein