Samuel L. Jackson Signed His First Marvel Offer for Nine Movies and Wondered: ‘How Long Do You Have to Stay Alive to Make Nine Movies?’

Zack Sharf

25 September 2024 at 4:48 pm·2-min read

Samuel L. Jackson participated in a career retrospective interview for GQ magazine and admitted that he was shocked by the speed that Marvel raced through his initial nine-picture deal. Jackson agreed to Marvel’s initial offer to play Nick Fury in nine movies, starting with a cameo appearance at the end of 2008’s “Iron Man.” He has since starred in a dozen Marvel movies, including multiple “Avengers” movies and standalone tentpoles like “Iron Man 2” and “The Marvels.”

“I knew I had a nine-picture deal,” Jackson said. “[Marvel Studios president] Kevin [Feige] said that: ‘We’re going to offer you a nine-picture deal.’ How long do you have to stay alive to make nine movies? It’s not the quickest process in the world. I didn’t know they were going to make nine movies in like two and a half years. That’s kind of crazy! Oh shit, I’m using up my contracts. It worked out.”

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Jackson previously told the Los Angeles Times that he’s never lost interest in his Nick Fury role and that he’d rather make billion dollar-grossing Marvel movies than win Oscars or chase down Oscar-baiting roles.

“As jaded as I wanted to be about it, you know thinking, ‘Well, I should have won an Oscar for this or should have won for that and it didn’t happen,’ once I got over it many years ago, it wasn’t a big deal for me,” Jackson said. “I always have fun going to the Oscars. I always look forward to getting a gift basket for being a presenter. I give stuff to my relatives; my daughter and my wife would take stuff out. It’s cool. … But otherwise, I was past it.”

Jackson added, “I was never going to let the Oscars be a measure of my success or failure as an actor. My yardstick of success is my happiness: Am I satisfied with what I’m doing? I’m not doing statue-chasing movies. You know: ‘If you do this movie, you’ll win an Oscar.’ No, thanks. I’d rather be Nick Fury. Or having fun being Mace Windu with a lightsaber in my hand.”

Jackson’s tenure as the Marvel super agent also included headlining his very own Disney+ series “Secret Invasion.” Watch Jackson’s full interview in the GQ video below.

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