Ava DuVernay has passed on ‘Black Panther’ for Marvel Studios
Whelp. Looks like a lot of people turned out to be wrong about Ava DuVernay directing Black Panther.
So we can finally put this rumor/story to bed, “Selma” director Ava DuVernay told Essence magazine today that she’s passed on Marvel’s “Black Panther” movie. “I guess I’ll declare my independence from this rumor on 4th of July weekend and Essence weekend!” she said. “I’m not signing on to direct Black Panther.”
Perhaps to no surprise, DuVernay say her ideas of what a Black Panther movie would be and what a Marvel version would be were vastly different. “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 [Boseman] and writers and all the Marvel execs,” she continues. “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.”
Not a huge surprise for anyone that knows DuVernay’s work well. She was always a wrong fit for the Marvel machine and it really just getting her career started with soulful, integrity-filled dramas that put character and not spectacle first. Like Joaquin Phoenix passing on “Dr. Strange” after a few conversations, we’re not shocked in the least.