Quentin Tarantino has been on a book tour lately, doing all the interviews on podcasts and with traditional media. When Tarantino is on a publicity tour, you know he’s going to share some of his hot takes about the film industry. And one of his recent takes took aim at the actors in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Tarantino said that the folks who play the superheroes in the Marvel films aren’t actually movie stars. Instead, the characters are the real stars. Samuel L. Jackson, a friend of Tarantino and one of the founding fathers of the MCU, disagrees.
Speaking on The View, Samuel L. Jackson was asked his opinion about Tarantino’s comments about the actors appearing in the Marvel films. His main point of contention is the definition of “movie star.” Jackson believes if you look at the traditional definition of what makes constitutes a “star,” then you can’t deny the people in the suits fit the bill.
“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. “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.”
Jackson is absolutely right. You can’t refute that Chadwick Boseman turned into a major movie star after his appearance as Black Panther. But that’s not the case for everyone in the MCU, right? The lead actors seemingly always rise above and turn into massive stars, if they weren’t already. But those more B-list superhero characters are the ones who tend to get left behind.
Take a look at Benedict Wong, who plays Wong in the “Doctor Strange” films and has shown up in a ton of different Marvel projects over the years. As much as Benedict Wong is a great actor and most of the reason why the character is a huge fan-favorite, it doesn’t mean Benedict Wong is out there demanding $25 million paydays like Chris Evans or Robert Downey, Jr. So, in that respect, there are plenty of characters in the MCU who are bigger “stars” than the folks who play them on screen, but you can’t discount everyone with a comment like that.
But hey, Tarantino is going to Tarantino. The man sure does love to share a hot take.
