Unhappy with the online vitriol that’s been directed at Brie Larson, Marvel Cinematic Universe co-star Samuel L. Jackson has something to say. Aside from both actors appearing in the MCU, which includes sharing the screen in Captain Marvel, Jackson also starred in Larson’s directorial debut film Unicorn Store. They first met on the set of the 2017 movie Kong: Skull Island, and because of that friendship, Jackson was the first person Larson called when she was offered the lead role in Captain Marvel.
“Brie’s a stronger person than people give her credit for,” Jackson explains in a new interview with Rolling Stone. “We had done Kong together, which was not the most wonderful experience for either of us. We became great friends during that particular experience because we were having such a hard time.”
He continued, “We bonded through the election while we were doing her movie when Donald Trump won. She was broken and I was like, ‘Don’t let ‘em break you. You have to be strong now.’ Then, when she got Captain Marvel, she called me and was like, ‘They want me in the Marvel Universe. Should I do it?’ And I was like, ‘Hell yeah! Let’s do it!’”
Jackson then addressed the social media criticism of Larson. He states that she doesn’t let the online trolling get to her, writing off the hatred as coming from “incel dudes” who are simply frustrated with Larson staying true to herself and her beliefs, rather than being who the trolls want her to be.
As Jackson puts it, “She’s not going to let any of that stuff destroy her. These incel dudes who hate strong women, or the fact that she’s a feminist who has an opinion and expressed it? Everybody wants people to be who they want them to be. She is who she is, and she’s genuinely that.”
Brie Larson Gets Backup From Samuel L. Jackson
Jackson and Larson will soon cross paths in the MCU again as well. Larson returns as Carol Danvers in the upcoming Captain Marvel sequel The Marvels, and the movie also includes an appearance from Mr. Nick Fury. Meanwhile, Jackson can also be seen back in the role of Nick Fury for the all-new MCU-set series Secret Invasion, hitting Disney+ imminently on June 21.
While Larson has gotten her own film and is returning for a sequel, Jackson says he hasn’t exactly been pushing to have Nick Fury branch out with his own solo project. In the Rolling Stone interview, he admits that he’s concerned that asking for too much only gives Marvel more opportunities to kill off the character. With that said, Jackson says he likes the idea of exploring Nick’s history with a prequel story.
“My biggest concern with Marvel was trying to keep them from killing me more than anything else,” Jackson said. “I always wanted to tell the story about who Nick was before he had these superhero friends — when he lived in the shadow world as a spy, and how he connected with these people. Secret Invasion is not a superhero movie. It’s gritty and dark.”
This story originally appeared on Movieweb
