Samuel L. Jackson is known for playing Nick Fury in the MCU, but he grew up a Marvel Comics fan. So meeting the legendary Stan Lee was a dream come true.
“Things like that happen that you never expected,” he told PEOPLE at the premiere event. “Those are things that you can’t even imagine when you’re a kid, and you’re reading the books, and you see his name all over the place.”
“Never occurred to me as a kid growing up in segregated Tennessee that I would meet Stan Lee,” he continued. “So when it happens, it’s not even a dream come true. It’s something beyond that.”
Before his death in 2018 at 95, comic visionary Stan Lee transformed Marvel Comics into a powerhouse. He helped create world-famous comic and movie icons like Spider-Man, Black Panther, Iron Man, Thor, Black Widow, the Fantastic Four, and the X-Men.
For a generation of moviegoers, Lee was equally beloved for his quick, memorable Marvel Cinematic Universe cameos—delivering witty one-liners and priceless reactions across the franchise, capped off by his final appearance in Avengers: Endgame.
Jackson penned a heartfelt tribute to Lee on social media following his passing.
“Thank you @TheRealStanLee for the escape from this world & great joy inhabiting the ones you created!! You made so many believe in the good, the heroic, the villainous, the exciting; most of all, you were giving & gracious to us all. RIP,” Jackson wrote at the time.
In his latest film, Jackson stars in The Beast. He plays the President of the United States who’s dealing with a sudden, coordinated coup that leaves his Secret Service detail wiped out. It leaves the President trapped inside his heavily armored, tech-loaded presidential limousine—nicknamed “The Beast”. Alongside a severely injured agent (played by Joel Kinnaman), he must unlock the vehicle’s classified offensive capabilities. He must navigate a high-stakes war zone to survive, rescue his wife, and regain control of the country. The high-concept throwback offers an explosive mixture of classic 90s action chaos and Jackson’s signature charismatic badassery