Here’s hoping that the bigwigs over at Marvel are keeping an eye on news sites today. Game of Thrones director Neil Marshall, who also directed historical action epic Centurion, has voiced his enthusiasm at the prospect of directing a possible Black Widow spinoff for the studio somewhere down the line.
Speaking with Vanity Fair, Marshall said of his future plans that, “I think I’d like to do a big movie with a strong female lead, whether or not she would be a superhero.” To clarify, he added that, “I would love to do a Black Widow movie.”
Evidently, the director has a real admiration for Scarlett Johansson’s portrayal of the action heroine in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Describing the character as “perfect,” he called Black Widow “really interesting” in that “she doesn’t have any superpowers, she just has extraordinary skills, and the world that she comes from, being this ex-K.G.B. assassin, I find that really fascinating, yeah.”
Marshall certainly seems to fit the part of a Marvel director. His Game of Thrones episodes, “Blackwater” and “The Watchers on the Wall,” have both been epic hours of television, featuring massive and climactic battle sequences for the HBO series. His other projects, including episodes of Black Sails and movies Doomsday and The Descent, have further proven that the guy knows how to film action.
It wouldn’t be Marvel’s first time working with a Game of Thrones helmer, either – Alan Taylor directed Thor: The Dark World for the studio.
Though this is currently just wishful thinking on Marshall’s part, a Black Widow spinoff has been in and out of development for years. Last month, Feige noted that he wants a female-led Marvel movie “sooner rather than later,” and that Marvel has recently come under fire for its treatment of women may motivate Feige to accelerate the project. Additionally, buzz about a Black Widow prequel was just reignited by a deleted scene from Captain America: The Winter Soldier.
Tell us, what do you think? Would Marshall be a good fit for a Black Widow spinoff? Or do you have someone else in mind for the project?
