Samuel L. Jackson is speaking upon whether or not he would take on a role in the DC Movie Universe. Jackson has been an iconic face of several major geek culture franchises (Nick Fury in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Mace Windu in Star Wars), and yet he’s never appeared in one of the major Warner Bros. / DC Films projects of the last decade. As one of the most prolific actors of all time, Samuel L. Jackson’s absence from DC movies is very much a noticeable one.
Videos by ComicBook.com
When talking to the Happy Sad Confused podcast, Samuel L. Jackson was asked directly why he hasn’t jumped into the DC Movie Universe yet. Surprisingly (or not), Jackson was actually quite frank about in his response – which basically boils down to being open to the opportunity – but not quite confident about it:
“Well, I mean, we’re all– actors are mercenaries,” Jackson explained. “It’s kinda what we do, we act who we act for but… But I dunno that I’m going to read a DC script that’s gonna make me go, ‘Yeah, this is dope!… I mean, I’m a comic book fan, so I’ve been reading comic books forever… And truth be told, I don’t even read Marvel comic books… I read DC Comics my whole life, you know. We all came through Superman, Batman, Silver Surfer… Aquaman, I was a swimmer… I was all about DC. But I don’t know what the thing is about them cinematically…”
The conversation lands on Jackson and the host agreeing that the main issue with DC movies was the lack of the consistent and reliable (read: bankable) Marvel Studios formula for movie-making. That’s a topic that’s certainly debatable amongst comic book movie fans, but it’s a fair enough view for Samuel L. Jackson to have. WB/DC’s chosen approach to offering a variety of comic book movie franchises does leave a lot of room for trial and error when it comes to what will hit with fans and what will not. At age 73, Jackson really doesn’t have to step out to do any project he’s not reasonably sure will be a hit; Marvel Studios has guaranteed that every time Jackson suits up as Nick Fury it will be a significant thing.
There’s also the small awkward bit of trivia that the last time Samuel L. Jackson went anywhere NEAR a DC property it was starring as the villain in Frank Miller’s The Spirit comic book movie in 2008 – almost universally regarded as one of the worst comic book movies of all time. That same year Jackson also took a little cameo role at the end of Iron Man as Nick Fury. No wonder he’s never looked back.
