Ava DuVernay may have been snubbed by the Academy for her directorial turn on Selma, but that won’t stop her momentum as one of Hollywood’s rising talents. The outpouring of support after the snub only goes to show that she has great vision and knows how to tell an amazing story, so there is no doubt that she’ll be in great demand and have her choice of new projects. So what if someone really huge gives her a call — like Marvel Studios? Whoa. Okay. Kenneth Branagh, can we put you on hold, please?
DuVernay was asked by HitFix what she would do if Kevin Feige gave her a call and asked her to direct a Marvel movie and while she laughed at the possibility, she did have a response that could make her a very easy sell:
“I know that I love to deconstruct heroes, deconstruct myths. I’d probably want to do some kind of origin story, you know, where you get to the core of it before they get their powers.”
Two things stand in her way, and they are barely dealbreakers: DuVernay admits that she’s not into comic books and would have to look into that first. The other thing is that she isn’t exactly known for flashy fare like The Avengers or Guardians of the Galaxy. However, that doesn’t mean she isn’t suited to tell a great single-character origin story, as she said herself. If DuVernay can find a way to make a movie about Martin Luther King, Jr. without using his famous speeches, then she’d sure as heck find a way to fill in her own comic book blanks with a great screenwriter and production crew. And she is no stranger to playing with different genre devices as Alanna Bennett from Bustle points out:
Her direction of Selma imbued Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s legacy with some much-needed humanity while also utilizing tropes from the horror genre to paint a picture of the terror all-too present in so many fights for human rights.
This is a woman with a big toolbox. And DuVernay’s relative obscurity could be exactly what Marvel is looking for in a director:
…Marvel has been known to pick (some would say “gamble on”) somewhat unexpected but vision-filled directors who can bring their special talents to the studio’s grand experiment. See: The Russo brothers, who had mainly been known for sitcoms prior to Captain America: The Winter Soldier and who are taking on the mega-responsibility of Captain America: Civil War next.
With DC officially getting Michelle MacLaren in the director’s chair for Wonder Woman, Marvel is looking a really great opportunity right in the face. Could DuVernay beat out Angelina Jolie for Captain Marvel? Or could she take the helm for Black Panther? Come on, Marvel — blow our minds again.
Source: Bustle
