'Black Panther' Reportedly Eyeing 'Dope' Director Rick Famuyiwa For Post 'Captain America: Civil War' Gig

It looks like Marvel is now considering two prominent candidates to direct its “Black Panther” movie, and one of them is “Dope” director Rick Famuyiwa.

The news comes less than 24 hours after Marvel was supposedly in final talks with “Selma” director Ava DuVernay about stepping behind the camera to lead either “Black Panther” or “Captain Marvel.” Both movies were announced in October and both are bold new steps for mainstream superhero movies. Black Panther was the first black superhero introduced by Marvel Comics and the first to receive a stand-alone film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) – nothing against Falcon (Anthony Mackie). Captain Marvel will be the first female superhero to lead a Marvel film – nothing against Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson).

Now it seems that DuVernay has some competition from the 41-year-old Famuyiwa. The news comes from notable leaks guru and Latino Review writer Umberto Gonzalez.

As CinemaBlend notes, the movie referenced in the tweet leads many to believe Famuyiwa is being courted by Marvel. If this is the case, it doesn’t necessarily mean DuVernay is out of the running. She championed racial equality with “Selma,” and her perspective could shift to helming the female-driven "Captain Marvel," scheduled for a Nov. 2, 2018, release date.

Famuyiwa’s credits include “The Wood” (1999), “Brown Sugar” (2002) and “Our Family Wedding” (2010). His newest film, “Dope,” picked up a lot of steam at this year’s Sundance Film Festival. IGN reports that it received offers from at least six studios hoping to distribute it. With his career hot right now, it would make sense for Marvel Studios to bring him on board.

Black Panther (Chadwick Boseman) will appear in a solo film scheduled to hit theaters in July 2018. However, the character will be introduced in the upcoming superhero crossover “Captain America: Civil War,” which is currently filming in Atlanta.