While Samuel L. Jackson is most closely linked with the Marvel Cinematic Universe as Nicky Fury right now, that doesn’t mean he can’t make the jump to other titles if he wants. Evidence of that is clear, as Sam the man will be playing a villain for Matthew Vaughn’s adaptation of Mark Millar and Dave Gibbons’ **The Secret Service.
The film already features Colin Firth and big screen newcomer Taron Egerton. The premise is that old-school lothario Bond type Jack (Firth) takes his street-smart nephew Gary (Egerton) under his wing to train him in the family business. For their first mission, the pair investigates the mysterious kidnapping of various sci-fi acting legends, including Mark Hamill (wonder if Millar and Vaughn will convince him to crop up?) Jackson, we assume, will be the mastermind behind it. We’d rather not think about the last time he was a comic-book villain, in The Spirit. Let's focus on **Unbreakable **instead.
Vaughn has written the screenplay with his usual collaborator Jane Goldman, and the film is set up at Fox, which emerged triumphant after winning the rights.
Now the main issue is locking down a female lead, with rumours swirling around Emma Watson and Dark Shadows’ Bella Heathcote, though nothing has been set yet. Vaughn will no doubt be happy with his choice of bad guy, although he had already gone out to Leonardo DiCaprio and Tom Cruise. The cameras should be rolling in the autumn.