After the triumphant box office run of “Avengers: Endgame” (which isn’t over yet), Marvel fans have yet another MCU entry on the horizon next month, with the release of “Spider-Man: Far From Home.” But someone in the marketing department may have been a bit tired out from that first flick’s run, based on a glaring gaffe on a “Far From Home” poster that caught the eye of one of the film’s stars.
In a post on Instagram, Samuel L. Jackson shared a photo of two different posters promoting “Spider-Man: Far From Home,” in which his veteran Marvel character, Nick Fury, is featured prominently. At first glance, the images seem almost identical — until you realize that Fury’s signature eye patch appears on both his right and left eyes in the two different posters.
Jackson summed up his feelings with his favorite NSFW expletive, captioning the post, “Uhhhhhhh, What In The Actual F*CK IS GOING ON HERE???!!!” The actor added the helpful hashtag #lefteyemuthaf*kkah to clear up any confusion about where the patch actually belongs.
We assume Jackson’s post was at least slightly in jest, since clearly, the actual film wouldn’t screw up Fury’s patch placement. But whoever flipped this image in Photoshop — and whoever then approved it for release — is no doubt going to get some playful ribbing for the foreseeable future.
“Spider-Man: Far From Home” swings into theaters on July 2. We assume the offending poster will be pulled/corrected before then.
The Oscar-winning theme song to “Shaft” is is a bad mother–shut your mouth. Our very own Ms. Moviefone definitely couldn’t get it out of her head while watching the newest film in the franchise from director Tim Story, so she celebrated the iconic jam with Story and stars Samuel L. Jackson, Richard Roundtree, Jessie Usher, Regina Hall, and Alexandra Shipp.
Enjoy the latest episode of The Ms. Moviefone Show below and see “Shaft” in theaters now!
The new “Shaft” hits theaters this month, so it’s time to look at what it means to be John Shaft.
Warner Bros. Pictures has released a featurette focused on the legacy of Shaft, and it brings together the three men whose characters go by some variation of John Shaft: original “Shaft” star Richard Roundtree (John Shaft), and his movie nephew and grandnephew, Samuel L. Jackson (John Shaft II) and Jessie Usher (John “JJ” Shaft Jr.). In the upcoming film, they unite to uncover the truth about a murder.
The trio, along with co-star Regina Hall, all discuss the meaning of Shaft.
“Shaft is legendary,” Jackson says in the featurette. “He’s the best dresser, he’s the toughest guy.”
There’s also footage from the upcoming action flick. Watch below.
Roundtree starred in 1971’s “Shaft” and two sequels. Jackson’s “Shaft” came in 2000, and now the latest film in the franchise is due to hit theaters on June 14.
When Samuel L. Jackson popped up, post-credits, in 2008’s “Iron Man,” it was a startling cameo, especially for fans of the comic, who recognized that Nick Fury, the war-hardened taskmaster, was modeled after Jackson for the “Ultimates” comic book line. But few could have imagined that that moment, which promised the reveal of a much larger universe, would have yielded the Marvel Cinematic Universe, a 10-year, 20+ movie experiment that has reshaped the moviegoing landscape. Through it all, Jackson has been a constant, and a harbinger of very big things (he assembled the Avengers and uncovered the plot to destroy SHIELD, amongst other things). And nothing is quite as big as the introduction, this week, of “Captain Marvel,” the studio’s first female-led movie and their first set in the 1990s.
For Jackson, he got to don a younger look (aided by some cutting-edge technology) and reunite with his BFF Brie Larson, who plays Captain Marvel and who starred with Jackson in “Kong: Skull Island” (she also directed him in her filmmaking debut, “Unicorn Store,” set to debut on Netflix later this year). Jackson is amazing in the film, showcasing a different side of Fury, and his chemistry with Larson is totally effervescent.
We got to sit down with Jackson and talk about his more notable 90s action movie roles, what it was like getting digitally de-aged and what he knows about “Avengers: Endgame.”
Moviefone: This is very much a 90s-set buddy action movie and you made some great buddy action movies in the 90s.
It was pretty great. I was going another movie in New York. I was doing “Kiss of Death” and I had auditioned for “Waterworld.” So I was waiting on an answer on whether I was going to be in “Waterworld.”
What character was it in “Waterworld?”
Whatever character it was, Fishburne got the job. And he was supposed to do “Die Hard,” and they came to me the other day and said, “Well okay, you’re not going to be in ‘Waterworld’ but want to be in ‘Die Hard?’” I was like, “You mean like ‘Die Hard‘ ‘Die Hard?’” They said, “Yes, we’re making a new ‘Die Hard.’” YES! Because I had always coveted … My friend Reggie was the cop outside Nakatomi Plaza. I remember thinking, How’d Reggie get that job? I don’t even remember them auditioning people. So I was like, “Hell yeah, I’ll go hang out with Bruce Willis.” I got the “Simon Says” script then.
Yeah, because it wasn’t a “Die Hard” movie, right?
Yeah, it wasn’t “Die Hard” yet, it was “Simon Says.” The rest is kind of how it happens.
So your character was in the earlier version?
Oh yeah. Always. Zeus was always there. He was the guy who could answer the riddles.
McT was great. In the beginning, we didn’t really have a real structure other than Bruce was uptown and he had that sign on and we had to figure out a way to get from 160-something street down to the 70-something street. They get to the first riddle or whatever it was. And we would go to Bruce’s trailer and John would say, “Okay, I want to go 15 blocks today. So in order to get 15 blocks, Bruce, what are you going to say?” And Bruce would say, “Well, I can say …” And I would say, “Well, if he says that I answered …” And they write it down, write it down, write it down, and we go, “Okay, great, let’s go!” and we’d go shoot him. So we did that for about 60 blocks. It was great.
New Line Cinema
Another great 90s buddy action movie you made was “The Long Kiss Goodnight,” which you say was your favorite character you ever played. Why is that?
He had a lot of heart. He’s kind of bumbling but wry and a perfect foil for who Geena was. Her being such a bad ass and him, you know, him not being such a bad ass. So it’s kind of perfect. And we had a really great relationship. We spent a lot of time in the car, like, you know, like Brie and I do it in this movie. It’s a road movie. Yeah.
When you did that first cameo in “Iron Man,” did you have any idea that this was going to be such a huge part of your career and life after that?
Well I knew I’d signed a nine-picture deal.
You made that deal before you shot the “Iron Man” scene?
It kind of happened while I was doing it. When they asked me to do it, they said it to me. I figured, I guess what I did that we we’d be getting to the ninth picture about now. It used to take a little longer to make a movie. It takes a little longer to have an idea and I didn’t realize the universe was going to expand in the way that it expanded and I would be required to do specific things to connect stories on a specific kind the way. So I knew it was going to be big, but I just didn’t know it was going to advance as quickly.
Marvel Studios
What was your response when they said, “This is going to be a prequel, we’re going to meet Nick Fury with both eyes as a young shield agent?”
I don’t think anybody said it was a prequel, they just said, “It’s just a younger Nick Fury with two eyes.” It’s not really an origin story because there’s a lot missing. I mean you meet him kind of post-war, post-shadow world spy stuff. I guess it’s the Cold War and now he’s stuck on a desk. And you finally get something interesting to do. So this the awakening of nuclear more than anything else. Because she’s just first extraterrestrial and he finds out, oh okay, there’s things from somewhere else. And in his mind being Nick Fury, he probably realized, You know, the people I worked for probably know though, he never said anything and they’ve been holding out on me. So now I’ve got to figure out a way to make the battlefield even but I don’t think I’m going to tell them about this either. That’s the beginning of his plot.
Did they explain that kind of technical side of this performance to you when you signed on? In terms of the DA aging and, and all of that?
Yeah. I had nothing to do with that. All I had to do is show up for work and they put dots on my face. And I’m fortunate enough that I had a couple of films from the 90s that they reference.
New Line Cinema
Did they tell you what they were referencing?
They looked at a lot of different things. I think they settled on Danny Roman from “The Negotiator.”
Can you talk about your relationship with Brie, because you’ve co-starred with her, you’ve been directed by her and then you’re in this together.
Well for some reason, you know, we great friends almost immediately. Part of it was the difficulty of shooting a film like “Kong” on those remote locations and having to be out in the wild with no cell phone reception. So people don’t get a chance to disconnect when somebody said cut. We got to be together, fighting off bugs get, some water, kind of trying to try to stay warm or cold or warm up, whatever’s going on. And the trials and tribulations of that being able to find a way to laugh together while you’re out there to make it not seem so miserable.
And then joining forces with her on her directorial debut after kind of tricking her into casting me. Because I knew she had written this script and she wanted to have somebody else. So I kind of gave her a whole bunch of shit about it. You know, “So you really think that guy is better than me and you don’t want me in your movie?” She said it was because “I didn’t want you to say no.” It was like, “Your never asked me, you never gave me a chance to say no. But now I’m saying no, I don’t want to do your movie.” And then she’s like, “Please Sam!” So I ended up doing it and a great experience. It brought us closer together. We were together a lot more. We learned to have this little banter and we have a very easy way with each other and our level of professionalism is almost the same. We’re very, very well prepared to show up the next day and do what we’re supposed to do and try to do it as efficiently as well as possibly can. We have mutual respect and joy for being in that together and looking at each other and laugh when we’re done doing the scene.
Marvel Studios
Did you ever take her under your wing and your wing and say, “Listen, your life is going to get a lot more complicated?”
I don’t have a wing, but you I was just trying to say to her that, you know, this thing is different than any other thing that you’ve done. There are levels of popularity. Yes. But now you’re moving into, you know, where people are going to put you on a religious sort of a pedestal that is reserved for characters in “Star Wars” and the Marvel Universe. It’s one thing to say it and to intellectualize it and understand it, but it’s not going to strike on until the film actually gets out there to the masses. When I saw the film the other day, I really think I underestimated what I told her, because of the resonance of what happens in this film that hasn’t happened in a whole bunch of other movies. It’s easy to like Tony Stark, it’s easy to like Thor. But when you do a character like she did this one that so many young girls and women can look at it and go, “Oh, I want to do that. I’ve been knocked down eight times and got up nine. I had to do it. I played that. I succeeded in a male-dominated world.”
Before she becomes Captain Marvel and when she starts to rediscover who she is, realizing I accomplished some things, I was a formidable woman before these people gave me these powers and they claim that they we made you.” I’m not, I am someone that will self-made already. And the relationship she has with Maria, the best friend who went through the same thing and the closeness and support that they give each other through that trial is very resonant for a lot of women that are going to watch this film too. And a little girl who tells them, “You’re my role model and if you don’t do something special, then I don’t have to aspire to something special, but I want to be special. So go out there and be special.”
It’s like, oh, there’s a whole ‘nother thing that she’s got going on. She’s going to be on posters on little girls’ walls off and they’re going to want to wear this costume to school.
With “Endgame” coming up, how much do they tell you about the future of the MCU?
I mean I have no idea what’s going on in “Endgame.” I’m like everybody else waiting on it to happen.
“Captain Marvel” opens across the galaxy on Friday.
Boden and Fleck spoke about the film influences for “Captain Marvel,” comparing it to “RoboCop,” though Boden said that the film isn’t dark. She said, “I think that what is exciting to us about ‘RoboCop’ was this idea of a character who’s finding himself and finding his past and even though it’s a dark movie its also like extremely emotional in that way.” She spoke about the scene in “RoboCop” where the main character walks into his house and remembers his past. She told us that it was all about self-discovery, as Carol Danvers has forgotten her past on Earth now that she’s working for Starforce. Fleck also mentioned films like “Terminator 2: Judgment Day” and “The French Connection.” Color us intrigued!
They also spoke about having writer Kelly Sue DeConnick as part of the process. DeConnick is known for her run of “Captain Marvel” comics and recreating the character in her most recent form. Boden said the two were thrilled to meet her and had read her entire “Captain Marvel” run. She said that many of the references and ideas about Carol Danvers, and the things they pitched to Marvel were influenced by DeConnick. Fleck, who joked that he does what Boden tells him on set spoke about what attracted him to the character. “It was just her voice. It was the humor in her attempts at humor. You know, I think that sometimes she’s funny and sometimes she tries to be funny and it’s just like nice try at that joke and she doesn’t care she just keeps doing it you know.” Hey, who has to be funny when you can push an actual Jeep up a hill!
Schwartz gave us an overview of what we’re going to see, and with everyone watching the trailers over and over to get a sense of what’s coming, the info is invaluable. He explained that the film starts with Carol already working with Spaceforce and fighting for the side of the Kree in the Kree/Skrull war. Mar-Vell (Jude Law) is in charge of the mission, which doesn’t exactly go well. Carol is captured by the Skrull, and ends up on Earth, crashing through the roof of a Blockbuster Video. We learned that the film is about 50/50 in terms of space scenes and Earth scenes, and that the big Earth plot ties it all together. He also told us that we’re going to see the first meeting between Coulson (Clark Gregg) and Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson). We can only hope for the ultimate Marvel Cinematic Universe meet cute.
Gemma Chan (who plays Minn-Erva) spoke to us about her character, who is a member of Starforce. She’s also blue, and Chan told us that she spent hours in the makeup chair. We finally got to see her full costume by the end of the set visit’s second day, and you can understand why it took so long. She also said that the costume was less than comfortable, and that doing stunts was challenging, but that she loved it. She also praised the hair and makeup team for their work.
Chan explained that there is a “slight rivalry between the two characters. I would say that to a certain extent, Minn-Erva doesn’t quite trust Carol but they’re all, as a team, they’re very efficient and they get stuff done.” She continued, “I suppose before Carol joined the team, Minn-Erva was probably kind of the star of this Starforce team, and she was probably the favorite of the commander who is played by Jude Law. So yeah, so I suppose there’s more to do with their abilities rather than affections as such. It’s kind of playful rivalry.”
While on set we saw a scene where Starforce is getting ready to go out on a mission, and the joking between the characters as they give Carol hell for being overly enthusiastic on their last mission bore that out. We watched them in their green costumes, laying down on slabs and being transported to their next mission.
In “Captain Marvel” we’re going to see a familiar character or two, from Agent Coulson to Nick Fury. We’re also going to see Korath when he was a member of Starforce. Djimon Hounsou told us that he’s still a “killing machine” like he is in the first “Guardians of the Galaxy” film. He’s younger here, but there isn’t much difference in his personality and sensibility.
Hounsou talked about the scene we saw and explained, that the mission is, “to retrieve the subject basically. We’re heading on a mission, we’re not back from the mission yet, we don’t know what the mission reserves — what are the attributes around the mission and certainly the issues around the mission.” He explained that the mission was supposed to be “simple.”
Hounsou also spoke about Korath’s relationship with Carol. He told us, “I feel like Carol is the type of person that takes a joy at taking the piss at me all the time, cause I’m sort of very machine-like, very framed, very driven. The lack of not being so flexible and playful, she takes a piss at that, I think.”
We asked him about what the film means for him, and he told us that it really mattered to him. He said, “Well the thrill for me this time around is not even so much about this film, other than the fact that it’s great to be part of this one, but I think the one that really leverage all films for me, it’s ‘Black Panther.’ In a way that I’ve never heard in my own country, championing our kids, going to movies. Parents are even putting money on the side for them to just get that one ticket to go and see a movie like that.”
Marvel Studios
Lashana Lynch plays Maria Rambeau, mother of Monica Rambeau, whom comic book fans know and love (for a time Monica was Captain Marvel). Lynch explained who Maria is, saying, “She is a fighter pilot, very strong, very bold, very in control of herself. I’d say, in high demand with the industry that she’s in.” She told us that Rambeau and Danvers are best friends and she’s been dealing with the grieving process of losing her. When she shows up again, Maria has to, “reverse that grief and make it work for this, picking up of a friendship, which is kind of strange but ends up really beautifully.” Lynch expressed joy in the fact that she got to bring a lot of personality to her character because she wasn’t completely fleshed out.
Lynch also spoke about what a film like this means for her. She explained that having black superheroes in “Black Panther” meant a lot to her, and to kids who are finally seeing themselves on screen. She compared that to the role of Maria, saying, “in creating Maria, it made me realize that the younger generation, are going to have what I didn’t have as a kid, which is seeing themselves on screen. So this will be a classic film for the new generations to come, which is crazy. And also the new normal, which I can’t wait to be.”
She also explained the dynamic between Maria and Carol. “They have a very dry humor together,” she said. “They’re kind of… you know when you love someone and you pretend like you hate them? They have that little bit of a slightly unlikely boisterous, yet very loving, deeply loving, caring sister love. They have a sisterhood about them that is really nice to see in a Marvel movie. Carol Danvers is someone who is an aunt to my child, like she is family and that’s why her death take such a big effect on her life because she actually is her life. They’re in a male-orientated environment and industry, and all they have is each other, those female fighter pilots.”
New Line released the first trailer for the new “Shaft” movie, which sees Samuel L. Jackson reprising his role in the 2000 outing and follows up on the 1971 original.
This sort-of reboot/sequel not only reintroduces Jackson as John Shaft II but brings back Richard Roundtree as his father, the original John Shaft. Then there’s young John Shaft Jr. (Jessie Usher), so there’s three generations of incredibly cool private investigators strolling the streets of New York City.
The action comedy finds John Shaft II and Junior teaming up to infiltrate the Harlem underworld. Junior isn’t quite as slick as his dad, though he’s much more modern (he tries to teach Dad about misogyny). But all three generations definitely know how to kick ass.
Regina Hall, Alexandra Shipp, Matt Lauria, Titus Welliver, and Cliff “Method Man” Smith also star.
We spoke with Sarah Paulson, who costars as the psychiatrist tasked with unraveling the truth behind the supposed heroes, about what she knew about thw twist and what her favorite element of it was. Beware, because, of course, SPOILERS.
Moviefone: How much did Night tell you about your group, The Clover Folk?
Paulson: [laughs] The Clover Folk! The secret society? You know, he told me but it was all there on the page. That’s all that was there. The biggest question was which hand was the tattoo going to go on. And I have not seen the movie so I wonder if this is a thing people will notice on repeated viewings, but we did versions where you see the tattoo before we see the tattoo with Bruce at the end of the movie. I don’t know if, when I’m looking at Sam’s X-rays, we did versions where you could see a little bit of it. I don’t know where Night ended up with that in the edit.
But that was the main discussion – where do we put it, where are we going to see it? Let’s do versions when we see it here and he’ll decide if we ever see it when he’s editing it.
That’s so interesting. Now I want to go back and look for it.
I know. I wonder… Because if you’re not really looking for it, you wouldn’t notice.
You weren’t pulling down your shirt sleeves or anything?
No, it was very much an issue during costume fittings, to make sure all of my sleeves were, on its own, able to conceal it without much effort and if we wanted to reveal it, we could.
Did he ever indicate that this was an idea that he’d had from the beginning, with this group that shadows these heroes?
Well, listen, the man had almost 20 years to think about it. So whatever he decided, he decided long ago, but because he has so much invested in this, because the characters are so beloved to him, he would sometimes be like, “No, I do want to see the tattoo beforehand!” or “No, I don’t want to see the tattoo!” He wanted to be able to have the option in the edit.
What was your favorite aspect of this element?
I like playing everything about her. It’s always fun to place a person with a secret. At the same time, if you have a secret, you’ve got to be really good about concealing it. I haven’t seen the movie but I’ve talked to people who have and they’ve said, “You think there’s something mysterious about her but you don’t think like this happening.” You’re never sure if she’s good or bad.
“Glass” marks the culmination of a story that began 19 years ago with the release of “Unbreakable,” M. Night Shyamalan’s tribute to superheroes and more broadly, the visual and narrative language of comic books. Though the prospect of completing its mythology once seemed unlikely, the success of 2016’s “Split,” a psychological thriller that featured a few important overlapping details (including a cameo from Bruce Willis as David Dunn) catapulted it back into the public consciousness. After finally arriving in theaters this weekend, Shyamalan’s long-awaited follow-up answers some lingering questions, clarifies important details about these characters, their lives and their connections to one another, and paints a fuller backdrop for this burgeoning world of super-powered individuals. Beware of spoilers if you have NOT seen “Glass” yet, but here are just a few of the motifs, themes and threads that tie these films together:
Elijah Price
Before he played “Avengers” assemblyman Nick Fury, Samuel L. Jackson helped find Shyamalan’s motley crew of super-powered individuals as Elijah Price. Elijah’s own origin story is built on twin interlocked pillars of unhappiness and pain — he was born with a disease that makes his bones susceptible to breaks, ostracizing him from other children. But it’s his resulting escape into comic books that drives the discovery, at a terrible cost, of his eventual adversary, and later, the proof that what he has read on the page of thousands of comics is a thinly-veiled version of reality. After the events of “Unbreakable ,” Elijah’s triumphant epiphany is undercut by almost two decades of institutionalization, but an introduction to Kevin Wendell Crumb (James McAvoy) rekindles his determination to show the world that heroes — and villains — do actually exist.
David Dunn
Bruce Willis had long since become one of Hollywood’s toughest guys by the time he took the role of David Dunn, a melancholy security guard who learns he has extraordinary abilities. If “Unbreakable” unveils not just his powers but his purpose, “Glass” gives his efforts meaning: after taking on the responsibility of combating evildoers, he faces his greatest opponent in Crumb, whose strength and endurance rival his own, but whose ferocity as The Beast counterbalances his resolve and moral clarity. Price eventually pits David and Kevin against each other in order to push them to show the true extent of their powers — both to themselves, and to the world at large.
Kevin Wendell Crumb
Like Jackson, James McAvoy was no stranger to superheroes before taking the role of Kevin Wendell Crumb, a young man who suffers from Dissociative Identity Disorder whose multiple personalities are in a constant battle for control of his body, which they call “the Light.” Shyamalan actually conceived the character at the time that he was writing “Unbreakable” but eventually cut that story down to focus on the balance of good and evil between that film’s two main characters, David and Elijah. In “Split,” many of Crumb’s personalities were showcased, as well as just a hint of his powers as The Beast, a creature with heightened strength, speed and abilities who’s believed to be the next step in man’s evolution. Because those abilities are largely demonstrated in the service of kidnapping young women whose bodies are later eaten, he soon finds himself in conflict with David; at the same time, Elijah provides his dueling personalities with a clear-eyed authoritative presence to drive them forward, leading to the showdown that occurs during the climax of “Glass.”
Supporting Cast
Though David and Elijah anchor the superhero dialectic in “Unbreakable,” a handful of supporting characters throughout that and “Split” play important roles in nudging them towards not just self-discovery but their destinies. Mrs. Price (Charlayne Woodard), Elijah’s mother, introduces him to comic books as a child as a way to get him to venture outside into a very frightening and dangerous world, paving the way for his expertise and even obsession with their conventions as an adult. Joseph Dunn (Spencer Treat Clark), David’s son, becomes his closest confidante as he begins to realize what he has been hiding (even from himself), and Joseph both idolizes him and encourages him to share those gifts with the world.
And then from “Split,” Casey Cooke (Anya Taylor-Joy) is the only young woman to survive kidnapping by Crumb, and later, to be freed by The Beast. She becomes an unlikely ally after the three are detained, providing Crumb — or at least his buried “real” personality — with much of the unconditional love that he was refused that subsequently unleashed his violent alternates. Meanwhile, there’s also Jai (Shyamalan), a young drug dealer David briefly detains in “Unbreakable” who by the time of “Split” and “Glass” has turned his life around, and now himself works in security. Bonus trivia: the same character appeared in the non-“Unbreakable”-connected “The Village!” How’s that for a twist?
Colors, Images and Sounds
Shyamalan’s creation of the world of these characters was very detailed and deliberate, and as far back as “Unbreakable” he associated specific colors with each of the characters — in David’s case, the green of his poncho that conceals his identity, and in Elijah’s, various shades of purple (a color that just viscerally stands out on screen but is used particularly often with villains in comic books). He later adds another color to this landscape with Kevin, whose multiple personalities all in different ways seem to gravitate to some shade of yellow.
Though he uses a different composer for “Unbreakable” than for “Split” and “Glass” (West Dylan Thorsdon), in the final film Shyamalan skillfully integrates cues from the first two to reinforce the continuity of the characters and to underscore thematic ideas like David’s understated pursuit of criminals. Finally, Shyamalan uses two scenes originally deleted from “Unbreakable” as a look inside the minds of David and Elijah at two particularly fraught moments in their journey in “Glass” that amplify the emotional intensity of their continued, individual and collective search for meaning.
Eastrail 177
Unofficially, “Unbreakable,” “Split” and “Glass” form what is known as the “Eastrail 177” trilogy, because it’s the train crash from “Unbreakable” that sets these characters on their path: Elijah, hoping to uncover news of a Super, sabotaged the train, causing all of its passengers except for David to die. Though he is ultimately — and horrifyingly — elated to discover what he’s been searching for, Elijah unexpectedly created two super-powered beings that day, because Kevin’s father died in the crash, leaving the then-child to deal with his mother’s own mental illnesses, which eventually caused his own. The Beast’s eventual discovery of this fact in the final scenes of “Glass” brings not just his own or David’s stories full circle, but Elijah’s, as the unhinged mastermind fulfills his destiny and finally exposes the world to superheroes — even as it comes at the ultimate cost.
This week sees the release of “Glass” and with it culmination of M. Night Shyamalan‘s shared cinematic universe, which began with “Unbreakable” back in 2000 and continued, to everyone’s surprise, with 2016’s “Split.” And while the big draw is obviously the scenes shared between Bruce Willis, Samuel L. Jackson and James McAvoy, there are new characters introduced in this final chapter, the biggest of which is Dr. Ellie Staple, a psychiatrist treating all three of them for what she perceives as their delusional tendencies. As portrayed by the always-brilliant Sarah Paulson, the doctor is sharp, efficient and harboring (of course) some very huge secrets. She wants to unlock their potential by destroying the notion that any of them are special; it’s an intriguing concept brought to fully-formed life by Paulson.
We were lucky enough to talk to Paulson about her character, her relationship to the franchise before signing on, and whether or not she’d want to continue playing in the “Unbreakable” sandbox.
Moviefone: Were you a fan of these movies before you had signed on?
Paulson: I was obsessed with “Unbreakable.” “Split” I saw in the theater, reluctantly, because the trailer scared the sh*t out of me and I wasn’t sure if I wanted to go there. But my friend Pedro Pascal said, “Come on! We’re going to go!” So we went and I was absolutely entranced by it and I remember Bruce Willis was sitting there, the audience went bananas. And I turned to Pedro and said, “Wait wait wait – what does that mean?” He broke into the most sly smile and said, “It means this is the sequel to ‘Unbreakable.’” I went, “Whaaaat?” and started freaking out. So “Unbreakable” is my favorite of Night’s movies, so it was exciting to watch it three more times before starting this movie just to really immerse myself in that world.
It’s interesting that you were scared of “Split,” considering you do so many scary things.
I know, everyone says that. But it’s funny because one really has nothing to do with the other. It’s so fascinating to me, because creating fear for someone who is already frightened, isn’t that hard to imagine. It’s really at the ready for me, because everything terrifies me. It’s a very real thing, folks. Very real.
You hear about Night’s movies being very secretive and huh-hush. So what was that experience like for you on “Glass?”
Well I said yes to it before I read it because I met with Night. I was shooting “American Horror Story: Cult” and this movie called “The Post” at the same time — that was in New York and ‘Cult’ was in Los Angeles and Night was coming to LA. He had asked my agent if he could meet with me and I had not a moment of free time because the schedule was so crazy, so he came and had lunch with me in my trailer at work. He didn’t really tell me much about the movie but when he left we exchanged phone numbers and he said, “Listen, in the spirit of full disclosure, I don’t know that this part will even be played by a woman, it might be played by a man. I just want you to know that, since I’m still writing it.” So I thought, There’s nothing I can do about that. You lose a part to another actor, what can you do? But if you’re looking for a man, I’d like to imagine I could pull that off for you but I’m not sure if I can.
But eventually he called me and said, “I want you to do it.” And I said without having read the script. So that’s really the truth – I didn’t know anything about the movie until I was handed the script by a little man in a backpack and a baseball hat, knocked on the door of the hotel I was staying at and handed me the script. I’m sure he practically waited outside while I read it.
I was worried the last five pages might be missing or I’d heard that he sometimes gives you multiple endings, and you don’t know which one is true. But I got the full script, the whole story was there and the ending included.
So when he first met you did he lay out the character at all?
He did. He said the role would be of a doctor who is helping these patients and all three of the characters are from “Unbreakable” and “Split.” I said, “Wait what?” But, again, he said, “It may be a man, it may be a woman, I’m not sure.” But I was like, “You’re telling me that I could be in a movie connected to ‘Unbreakable’ and ‘Split’ and I have to wait until you decide if it’s a man or a woman? Okay. I’ll try to sit tight. Sure.”
Universal/Disney
You’ve played characters who have multiple identities or have played multiple characters in the same project, but what was it like working with James during those scenes where he’s toggling between those characters?
That’s one of the more extraordinary things I’ve ever borne witness to. And that’s the truth. I’ve worked with arguably some of the greatest actors in the world and I have been lucky enough to look into their faces while they’re working and it’s really special. This was like an Olympic event it felt like. And someone should hand him a gold medal. He literally goes in and out of these personalities without taking a breath. It was awe-inspiring and totally irritating because, really, nobody should be that talented, it was kind of annoying.
When you finally got to do some scenes with Sam and Bruce did you let them know that you were obsessed with “Unbreakable?”
No I tried to keep it cool because being around Samuel L. Jackson is intimidating enough. The man is about 7-foot-10 and you’ve seen him in every movie that’s ever been made basically. He’s just a legend. But of course he’s the nicest man alive and you both start talking about how much you love “Game of Thrones” and the next thing you know, you’re best friends. I’m the queen of not being able to keep my cool. I tried my best to keep it a little bit under wraps so as not to totally embarrass myself. But it’s not easy for me. It’s not my safe space.
This movie does open up the world of the “Unbreakable” universe. Has Night talked to you about coming back?
Well, nothing would make me happier, I have not heard one peep about that. Maybe I can ply Night with enough booze tonight at the premiere where he’ll say, “Well maybe if I were to do it …” But what I think matters is just that people go to this movie and if they go to the movie … If people go to the movie, then they make other movies. So …
And that’s not all – check back on Monday for more with Paulson, including a breakdown of the movie’s big twist.
Possible spoilers ahead. Read on at your own risk.
Jackson, who plays Nick Fury, had been asked why Captain Marvel is the right superhero to headline her own movie, so he opened up about her and how she’s “pretty much the strongest character” in the MCU. However, in doing so, he revealed some intel that had not yet been confirmed in the films, as Esquire pointed out.
“I mean, [the Avengers] are up against some really, really tough odds right now — we saw throughout ‘Infinity War’ — so now we know that we need something that’s as powerful as Thanos,” Jackson told ET. “And at some point, we’ll find out how powerful she is and all the things that she’s capable of. She’s one of the few people in the Marvel universe that can time travel, so…”
Jackson trailed off, but he had already given fans a lot to salivate over. Tying Captain Marvel to Thanos (Josh Brolin) and the Avengers’ plight aligns perfectly with a popular fan theory. Many MCU fans have been speculating that when we see Fury and Carol Danvers together in “Captain Marvel,” she’ll give him the old-school pager he used to call her as he turned to dust in “Avengers: Infinity War.” Additionally, they expect that she — and her time travel abilities — are a key part of the one way to defeat Thanos that Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) saw in his visions.
While it’s interesting to consider, we still have about 14 million more questions.
Supporting Cast
Though he uses a different composer for “Unbreakable” than for “Split” and “Glass” (West Dylan Thorsdon), in the final film Shyamalan skillfully integrates cues from the first two to reinforce the continuity of the characters and to underscore thematic ideas like David’s understated pursuit of criminals. Finally, Shyamalan uses two scenes originally deleted from “Unbreakable” as a look inside the minds of David and Elijah at two particularly fraught moments in their journey in “Glass” that amplify the emotional intensity of their continued, individual and collective search for meaning.
