The White Lotus season 3 is one of the biggest shows in the world heading into its finale on HBO and Max on Sunday, April 6. Interest in the series is higher than ever, so it should come as no surprise that a story of one of The White Lotus stars turning down the Marvel Cinematic Universe is gaining traction.
Of course, I'm talking about Carrie Coon, who stars as Laurie in the series. Coon is one of the most talented actresses who doesn't get enough credit for being awesome. Coon starred in Avengers: Infinity War, the biggest movie of 2018, as Proxima Midnight, one of Thanos's minions, but she didn't return to play the part in Avengers: Endgame, one of the highest-grossing movies of all time. Now, we know why.
According to a report from Variety, Coon's husband, actor Tracy Letts, told The Ringer's The Big Picture podcast told the people that Coon was invited back for Avengers: Endgame, but Marvel wouldn't give her a pay raise for Avengers: Endgame.
"I believe [Marvel] went to her for the second one, and they asked her to be in the second one. And she said, ‘Well, the first one is the most successful movie ever made. Are you going to pay me any more money?’ And they said, ‘No. We’re not going to pay you any more money.'”
Instead, as Letts recalled, Marvel told Coon that she should just be grateful for the opportunity.
“She said, ‘Wow, you’re not going to pay me any more money, then I don’t think I’m going to do it. And they said, ‘Well, you should feel yourself fortunate to be part of the Marvel Universe.’ So she declined."
They said that to Carrie Coon. Let that sink in.
Look, I understand that Coon's role in the film wasn't huge in comparison, but that's not really the point. It's that an Emmy-nominated actress wasn't given any additional compensation despite having a role in a movie that grossed more than $2 billion. She was invited back for another movie that was probably going to gross another $2 billion at the same rate.
The sadder, although kind of funny part is that Coon's character Proxima didn't actually have any lines in Endgame because Marvel didn't want to pay, according to the AV Club.
That's just greed. We all know how these studios operate, you know? And, if you don't, I highly recommend Seth Rogen's The Studio on Apple TV+, but it's just disappointing.
Anyway, if you want to appreciate that talent of Coon, tune in for The White Lotus season 3 finale. She's been incredible this season, and she has to be on the shortlist of Emmy favorites. The only issue is that she's probably going to be in the same category as Parker Posey, who is absolutely crushing it as Victoria Ratliff.