Since Quentin Tarantino’s latest film project was announced, a tidal wave of casting rumors has hit the Internet. Will Smith, Idris Elba and even Chris Tucker were at one time rumored to play the lead in Django Unchained. It seems for the moment that Jamie Foxx has the lead role, but when Variety broke the news today that Samuel L. Jackson had been confirmed for a part in the film, the project seemed to have come full circle. Jackson will portray Stephen, the number one henchmen for the villainous plantation owner Calvin Candie (Leonardo DiCaprio).

Quentin Tarantino had been branching out of late and working with almost entirely new troupes of actors. For Inglourious Basterds, the new troops included Brad Pitt, Christoph Waltz, Michael Fassbender and Diane Kruger. Prior to that, he ventured into virgin collaborative territory with the legendary Kurt Russell for Death Proof. But Samuel L. Jackson is as indelible to Quentin Tarantino’s cannon as his use of homage to exploitation film and the cinematically obscure so it was only a matter of time before he’d be back. Even Inglourious Basterds couldn’t remove Sam L. entirely from the equation; he was the narrator for Hugo Stiglitz’s backstory.

Jackson is the perfect collaborative partner for Tarantino. He brings an exploitative penchant for violence as well as an inhuman amount of cool to every role. Yet he’s also proven himself to be a legitimately skilled actor able to operate in any given genre. In other words, he’s able to hearken back to the films Quentin is referencing and then use a layered, intense performance to elevate the material and give the film its own identity. He’s always played characters for Quentin that operate outside the confines of right and wrong, but it’ll be interesting to see him play an out-and-out villain, especially one that seems to be complicit in the enslavement of his own people.

No word on when this fifth team-up between Tarantino and Samuel L. Jackson will begin filming. But when it’s completed, the Weinstein Company, also a frequent Tarantino collaborator, will handle the distribution.