People express interest in directing particular projects all the time, but when a guy like Neil Marshall says he’d like to direct a Black Widow movie, you listen.  Marshall’s the guy behind Game of Thrones’ “Blackwater” episode and he also actually just scored an Emmy nomination for directing season 4’s “The Watchers on the Wall,” but the one I hold near and dear is Marshall’s second feature film, the 2005 release, The Descent.

While discussing his work on Game of Thrones in a recent interview, the conversation shifted to the fact that Marshall didn’t get the chance to work with very many of the show’s leading ladies because his episodes primarily focus on male-dominated battles.  From there, the idea of directing a female superhero movie popped up and Marshall went straight for Scarlett Johansson.  Hit the jump to find out what he said about directing a Black Widow movie.

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Image via Universal Pictures

When Vanity Fair asked Marshall if he’d like to direct a female-led superhero movie, he replied:

“I think I’d like to do a big movie with a strong female lead, whether or not she would be a superhero.  I’m more interested in characters like Scarlett Johansson in Lucy.  I’m less interested in people with superpowers because I can’t identify with them.  Very rarely do they get killed off, and when they do get killed off, chances are they’re going to be back … somehow.  Yes, I’d love to do a big splashy movie with a great female lead, but it has to be someone I can believe in.”

Even though Marshall isn’t into superpowers, you can’t bring up superhero movies and Scarlett Johansson without discussing the possibility of a Black Widow movie.  Plus, Black Widow happens to fit his requirements.  She doesn’t have superpowers; she’s just a well trained fighter.  When asked if that’s something Marshall would be interested in exploring, he explained:

“I would love to do a Black Widow movie.  That’s perfect, I would love to do that.  That character is really interesting, 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.”

You know what, Neil?  I would love to see your Black Widow movie!  Even though Marshall didn’t get much time to work with the female stars of Game of Thrones, minus Ygritte, The Descent proves he knows how to bring strong leading ladies to screen.  Tack on his action/big battle accomplishments from the show and we’ve got a pretty promising combination right there.

But of course, before that can happen, we need Marvel to get serious about that Black Widow movie.  We know the character is getting more screen time in Avengers: Age of Ultron and that Kevin Feige has expressed interest in giving her a solo movie, but that’s really it.  Marvel’s still got quite a few empty release dates to fill, so perhaps Black Widow will wind up getting one of them, but at the moment, despite some surface level interest, there’s really been nothing to suggest they’ll move forward with it anytime soon.

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Image via Marvel Studios

Neil Marshall Black Widow Movie