Samuel L. Jackson poses for a photo on the red carpet at the grand opening of the Tyler Perry Studios. AP

Gulf Today Report

Samuel L Jackson has said Spider-Man: No Way Home deserves an Oscar award.

The actor has again defended Marvel films against criticism that they do not count as cinema.

In October 2019, Martin Scorsese attracted backlash after stating that Marvel films are “not cinema”. Francis Ford Coppola later doubled-down on the filmmaker’s remarks, calling superhero movies “despicable”.

Jackson – who has made 10 appearances as Nick Fury in the Marvel Cinematic Universe – opened up about his thoughts on the attitude toward superhero films in an interview with “The Sunday Times.”

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“All movies are valid,” Jackson said. “Some go to the cinema to be moved dearly. Some like superheroes. If somebody has more butts on seats it just means your audience is not as broad.

“There are people who have had successful careers but nobody can recite one line of their parts. I’m the guy who says shit that’s on a T-shirt.”

He added that “they should have an Oscar for the most popular movie because that’s what business is about”.

Asked whether the Academy should award “Spider-Man: No Way Home” with an Oscar, Jackson replied: “They should! It did what movies did forever – it got people to a big dark room.”

The superhero film – which made $1.8bn (£1.34bn) – was the biggest box office hit since the start of the pandemic.

In December, Tom Holland – who plays the titular superhero in “No Way Home” – responded to Scorsese’s comments, retorting that he believes Marvel films are “real art”.

Jackson has previously criticised Scorsese’s opinion on superhero movies, stating that what the filmmaker said is “like saying Bugs Bunny ain’t funny. Films are films”.

“Guardians of the Galaxy” director James Gunn expressed sadness over Scorsese’s stance, tweeting: “Martin Scorsese is one of my five favourite living filmmakers.

“I was outraged when people picketed “The Last Temptation of Christ” without having seen the film. I’m saddened that he’s now judging my films in the same way.”

Elsewhere in the interview, Jackson criticised Joe Rogan over the podcaster’s past use of the N-word.