Credit: Marvel StudiosSamuel L. Jackson has a flourishing career that’s as strong as ever, but his MCU counterpart may not be as lucky in the future.
Marvel’s newest series Secret Invasion is currently streaming on Disney+, starring Samuel Jackson once again as fan favorite, Nick Fury. The series takes place post-She-Hulk as Nick Fury and his allies fight back against an alien invasion of the shape-shifting Skrulls. It’s the ninth MCU series to debut on Disney+ and features several returning cast members, including Cobie Smulders as Maria Hill and Ben Mendelsohn as Talos, as well as new faces like Emilia Clarke as Talos’ daughter G’iah.
In a recent interview with Rolling Stone, however, Jackson says one of his biggest fears was actually the death of his character, who arguably served as the catalyst for one of the biggest team-up events in movie history. “My biggest concern with Marvel was trying to keep them from killing me more than anything else,” he explained. “I kind of liked the gig! When they called me in to tell me what’s going on, I always thought they were trying to kill me.”
He recalls his introduction into Marvel with his appearance in Iron Man (2008) and his original deal of nine movies. “At the time, making nine pictures would’ve taken almost 10, 12 years. I had no idea that it would happen that quickly.” Discounting Agents of Shield, this would have meant Jackson’s deal was ongoing all the way through Captain Marvel in 2019, over 10 years after he originally appeared in 2008’s Iron Man.
While many other MCU actors have dropped out of or taken a hiatus from making Marvel movies, Jackson seems to be ready to be a part of the universe for as long as possible, stating that he’ll “keep coming ‘till they stop calling me. As long as my phone rings, they can call me.” He also touched on his appearance in movies even after he’s gone, explaining that since joining the MCU, “every time you change costumes in a Marvel movie, they scan you,” for possible use in future projects. He confirmed that it is something to worry about, especially with the rise of AI.
However, the star stated that whenever he gets a new contract, “and it has the words ‘in perpetuity’ and ‘known and unknown’ on it: I cross that shit out. It’s my way of saying, ‘No, I do not approve of this.'” Secret Invasion has come under fire after the release of the first episode for using AI art as the WGA strike heads toward its third month and the SAG strike looms over the industry as well.
Either way, it’s clear that Samuel L. Jackson enjoys his work with Marvel and is looking forward to as many projects with the studio as possible. In the MCU, no one is safe from being killed off, whether it lasts or not. It’s unclear just how much longer Jackson has within the MCU, but hopefully Nick Fury will be around for a long time.
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