Marvel is currently looking for a director for its upcoming Black Panther film, after Ava DuVernay turned down the job offer. But while the studio has said it wants to find a black director for the film, which will be Marvel’s first solo film in which the title character is black, Captain America star Anthony Mackie says the race of the director shouldn’t factor into the decision.
“I don’t think it’s important at all,” Mackie told The Daily Beast. “As a director your job is to tell a story. You know, they didn’t get a horse to direct ‘Seabiscuit!’ The thing is I don’t think the race of the director has to do with their ability to tell a story. I think it’s all about the director’s ability to be able to relate to that story and do it justice. I think men can direct women, and two of my greatest work experiences were with female directors. So I think it all depends. May the best man — or woman — win.”
The Black Panther film might not yet have its director, but it has its title character already cast, with Chadwick Boseman playing the comic book superhero in Captain America: Civil War before his solo movie comes out.