As anyone who has seen filmmaker Ava DuVernay's films like Middle of Nowhere and Selma, or been a follower of her Twitter feed can attest, she has a creative perspective all her own. That's part of the reason why fans were excited when her name surfaced as a possible contender to direct Marvel's Black Panther. Just days ago it seemed she was a shoe-in for the job, too, when Kevin Feige admitted that the two sides had been in negotiations. Unfortunately, DuVernay just revealed to Essence magazine that things haven't worked out and she's moving on...
“I guess I’ll declare my independence from this rumor on 4th of July weekend and Essence weekend! I’m not signing on to direct Black Panther. I think I’ll just say we had different ideas about what the story would be. Marvel has a certain way of doing things and I think they’re fantastic and a lot of people love what they do.”
“I loved that they reached out to me. I loved meeting Chadwick and writers and all the Marvel execs,” she adds. “In the end, it comes down to story and perspective. And we just didn’t see eye to eye. Better for me to realize that now than cite creative differences later… I love the character of Black Panther, the nation of Wakanda and all that that could be visually. I wish them well and will be first in line to see it.”
So not a total surprise here, but does that mean Marvel will now turn to Rick Famuyiwa (Dope) as their fallback option? With Black Panther set to debut in Captain America: Civil War before starring in his own solo movie in 2018, an announcement could be coming soon.
