The Marvel Cinematic Universe is slowly starting to get a little more diverse, thanks to the addition of Black Panther and Captain Marvel movies to the MCU lineup. With Marvel confirming at San Diego Comic-Con yesterday that Brie Larson will be playing Carol Danvers in the upcoming Captain Marvel solo movie, the MCU will finally see a female character in a lead role instead of a supporting one.

While that is good news for diversity in comic book movies, it may come as a bitter pill to fans who have been hoping that Black Widow would be the first female superhero to have her own standalone Marvel movie. The possibility of a Black Widow solo movie has been the topic of much discussion since Scarlett Johansson first appeared in the role in Iron Man 2, but so far no such movie has yet been announced. If it were, though, there is at least one person who would be interested in directing it.

That person is Joss Whedon, who previously directed Avengers and Avengers: Age of Ultron for Marvel. While he stepped out of the director's chair after Age of Ultron, that does not mean he would be unwilling to return to the role. While speaking to IGN at San Diego Comic-Con, Whedon was asked if he had any interest in directing a Black widow movie. Whedon said he would definitely be up for the job:

"If somebody pointed to me and said, 'You want to make a Black Widow movie?' the answer would be 'Duh.' For two reasons: I think that character really is very interesting and very earthbound and so it's the kind of action that I got to do less of with somebody like Thor or The Vision. When you get into your Superman territory it's harder to maintain that sort of gritty action that the Russo brothers do so beautifully. And she's got that kind of thing... and really do a spy thriller, really do a good, paranoid sort of John LeCarré on crack sort of thing. Also, Scarlett Johansson is just delightful. She works really hard, but she just spends most of her time cracking me up, so it would be a fun shoot."

joss whedon

While Whedon's experience with directing Age of Ultron seems to have been a somewhat negative one, including some clashes with Marvel over the direction of the movie, that does not necessarily mean that Whedon is done with the MCU. The work he put into the first Avengers movie in particular helped lay the groundwork for the MCU as it exists today, showing for the first time that a superhero movie with a big ensemble cast could be done successfully. As someone who has been an outspoken feminist, Whedon would make a good choice for Black Widow director, although one could argue that a female director would be an even better choice.

With so many people involved in the MCU wanting a Black Widow movie to happen, including Whedon, Captain America: Civil War's Anthony Mackie, Civil War writers Joe and Anthony Russo, and Marvel Studios head Kevin Feige himself, it seems like only a matter of time before fans of Johansson's work get their wish. With Warner Bros. Pictures stepping up their game at San Diego Comic-Con with a very strong trailer for the women-led Wonder Woman from director Patty Jenkins, now is the time for Marvel to step up its game in return and give fans what they have been asking for for years now.

Next: 12 Things You Didn’t Know About Black Widow

Screen Rant will provide any details on a possible Black Widow solo movie as they become available. Doctor Strange opens November 4, 2016; Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 – May 5, 2017; Spider-Man: Homecoming – July 7, 2017; Thor: Ragnarok – November 3, 2017; Black Panther – February 16, 2018; Avengers: Infinity War Part 1 – May 4, 2018; Ant-Man and the Wasp – July 6, 2018; Captain Marvel– March 8, 2019;Avengers: Infinity War Part 2– May 3, 2019; and as-yet untitled Marvel movies on July 12, 2019, and on May 1, July 10, and November 6 in 2020.

Source: IGN