Ava DuVernay was rumored to be directing Marvel's Black Panther, but she ended up turning down the project. Now DuVernay is opening up about what lead to that decision.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, DuVernay explained at the 2015 BlogHer conference that she turned down the role mainly due to the time commitment.
"Because it’s really a marriage, and for this it would be three years," she said. "It’d be three years of not doing other things that are important to me. So it was a question of, is this important enough for me to do?"
DuVernay went on to say that at one point she was on board, as she saw the value in putting this kind of character on screen for a global audience. But ultimately, she felt like there would be a lot of compromise with Marvel, and that Black Panther wouldn't ultimately be an Ava DuVernay film. She'll instead be focusing on making movies that are more personal to her rather than carrying out what a studio wants.
Last month it was confirmed that DuVernay wouldn't be directing the movie, although at the time she cited creative differences with the studio, as we previously reported. Marvel has not yet picked a director.
Black Panther tells the story of T'Challa, prince of the fictional African nation of Wakanda who must take over as king after his father is killed. It will star Chadwick Boseman and will be the first Marvel film centered around a black superhero. The film hits theaters on July 6, 2018.
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