For a time it looked as if Angelina Jolie's sophomore effort behind the camera, Unbroken, was a sure-fire candidate for Best Picture and Best Director, but the Academy voters didn't see it that way. It hasn't deterred her from directing in the slightest, and already wrapped up filming on Beyond the Sea, an on-screen reunion with husband Brad Pitt, followed by Africa which he'll also appear in. But what about after that? Could Jolie be convinced to go for a much larger project? Like the Captain Marvel film being developed by Marvel for 2018?
A rumor surfacing at OK! Magazine says Marvel wants Jolie to direct Captain Marvel, their first major big screen foray into a female-led superhero movie. Targeting the female audience has become a priority of late with Agent Carter and the AKA Jessica Jones series debuting on Netflix, and securing Jolie to helm Captain Marvel would be a major coup. In fact, they could be willing to spend some serious bucks to make it happen. The magazine notes that Marvel was so impressed by Unbroken, which received modest reviews at best, that they'd be willing to offer her $20M to take the job. Like Warner Bros. who hired Michelle MacLaren to direct Wonder Woman, Marvel considers it a priority to have a female director for Captain Marvel.
It's probably a good idea to consider the gossipy source here and take it with a grain of salt, but on a surface level it makes some sense. Marvel would certainly be willing to invest some hefty cash to bring in Jolie because her name has drawing power, which could be necessary since Captain Marvel isn't considered an A-list superhero. Plus it wouldn't be at all surprising if they tried to use this as a means of getting Jolie to guest star in a supporting role, as well. They managed to get Robert Redford in Captain America: The Winter Soldier so why not shoot for the moon one more time? While this would be the biggest project Jolie has undertaken she has tons of action movie experience and has directed some impressive war scenes.
Captain Marvel is slated to arrive until July 6th 2018 so it may be awhile before we learn anything solid. The biggest question at this point may be who will take the title role.
