We all thought Hayley Atwell’s time with the MCU was over, as the actress hadn’t appeared as Peggy Carter since Agent Carter was cancelled back in 2016. And while it wasn’t too much of a shock after the trailers heavily referenced the character, it was still a nice surprise when Peggy showed up in last month’s Avengers: Endgame, with Captain America ultimately traveling back in time to get married to his wartime love.
This seemed to be the end of Steve Rogers’ story and, with the chances of an Agent Carter revival being low, it was most likely the end for the co-founder of S.H.I.E.L.D. as well. Given the opportunity, though, it looks like Atwell would like to continue her career with Marvel by hopping behind the camera.
The actress attended a Q&A panel with Daredevil‘s Charlie Cox at Wales Comic-Con recently and the pair discussed how they aren’t Marvel experts so when they’re often asked which other characters they’d like to play, they get stumped. In a hilarious coincidence though, an audience member who hadn’t heard their comments then asked them which other Marvel characters they’d play. Having already explained how difficult it is to answer that question, the British actress decided to suggest she’d like to switch production roles instead. “I’ll direct a film. I would like to do that,” she said.
Of course, Atwell isn’t the first Marvel star who’s announced that they’d like to direct something for the franchise, as Chris Evans and Karen Gillan have also expressed interest. Of the trio, Gillan has the most experience as her directorial feature debut The Party’s Just Beginning arrived to critical acclaim last year. Still, it would probably be a big gamble for Marvel to entrust any of their tentpole releases to anyone other than highly experienced filmmakers.
That being said, one report suggested that Evans might be lined up to helm some episodes of Disney Plus’ Falcon and Winter Soldier TV series following Avengers: Endgame. This sounds like a great idea, as it’ll allow the actor to stretch his legs behind the camera without throwing him in the deep end immediately. If this is the case, hopefully other stars – like Hayley Atwell – could also eventually get to achieve their goals of directing a Marvel production.
