Having spent a long time in Hollywood over the course of past decades, Samuel L. Jackson has established himself as a highly acclaimed actor in the industry. It does not come as a surprise for the emerging generation of actors to look up to the actor as a mentor and take inspiration from his work over the years. His Eve’s Bayou co-star, Jurnee Smollett, who starred alongside him as a child artist in the 1997 film, has also shared the same about the actor.
During an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, the actress opened up about the advice she got from the Marvel star after she was offered to star in one of the most popular superhero franchises.
Samuel L. Jackson’s Advice to the Birds of Prey Actress
In 2018, Jurnee Smollett joined the cast of Margot Robbie starrer DC film Birds of Prey. The spin-off and sequel to the 2016 Suicide Squad brought back Robbie as Harley Quinn alongside DC characters The Huntress, Black Canary, Renee Montoya, and Cassandra Cain.
Smollett portrayed the character of Black Canary and has shared that she was overjoyed with “response from the fans.” The actress also said that she did not want to disappoint fans with her performance, so she reached out to her mentors who had similar experiences.
She also called Samuel L. Jackson, who is widely known for his role as Nick Fury in the MCU. “I remember calling him and being like, “OK, so like, yo, what do I do?” she told The Hollywood Reporter. The Spiderhead actress shared that she asked him how she should approach the DC character.
“Is there a way in which I should approach this any differently than how I would approach any other character?” Smollett recalled asking Jackson, who told her, “Baby, just go and piss on your territory.” The actress followed his advice and ended up landing a Black Canary spin-off.
Is Jurnee Smollett’s Black Canary Spin-off Still Happening?
DC has been through tons of changes over the past year, from multiple project cancellations to Dwayne Johnson attempting to change the narrative of the superhero universe with his 2022 starrer Black Adam. However, after everything, James Gunn and Peter Safran have taken the lead and are all set to introduce fans to the new DCU.
While Gunn has announced his plans for DCU and Elseworlds, one movie that has not been part of the conversation is Jurnee Smollett starrer Black Canary, which was announced following the release of the 2020 DC film. The last significant update about the film came from screenwriter Misha Green, who claimed that she was still working on the script of the movie.
A Warner Bros. Pictures spokesperson also reportedly shared that the movie was still in development almost a year ago. However, no updates or any official cancellation has been announced following James Gunn and Peter Safran’s DC takeover.
Birds of Prey is available on Max.
Source: The Hollywood Reporter
