Black Panther Director News Update: 'Straight Outta Compton' Director Helmer to Direct Marvel Movie?
Felix Gary Gray may be joining Marvel's cinematic universe.
According to Variety, the director may be the one to take the 'Black Panther' to the silver screen.
Gray certainly has the credentials, making such movies as "The Italian Job," "A Man Apart," "The Negotiator" and "Friday." However, the film that has catapulted him to the list of favorites to helm the movie was his recent success "Straight Outta Compton."
The recent hit has grossed over $160 million domestically and close to $200 million internationally, despite only costing $28 million to produce. It currently ranks as the fifth best opening weekend in August and seventh on the opening weekends for an R-rated feature. Other films ahead of "Straight Outta Compton" on that list include "The Matrix Reloaded," "American Sniper," "The Hangover Part II," "Fifty Shades of Grey," "The Passion of the Christ" and "300."
Grey is also said to be on the list to direct the hotly anticipated "Fast & Furious 8" and it may ultimately come down to him choosing between Marvel or Universal's respective franchises.
Marvel is hoping to land a major director for "Black Panther," which has struggled to attain a top talent thus far. Ava DuVernay was the original choice but she eventually turned the position down.
"I'm not signing on to direct Black Panther," DuVernay told Essence this past summer. "I think I'll just say we had different ideas about what the story would be. Marvel has a certain way of doing things and I think they're fantastic and a lot of people love what they do. I loved that they reached out to me."
She also noted that the time commitment was too great for her, stating that it would be a "marriage" of three years for her and Marvel.
The film is slated to star Chadwick Boseman and will be released in 2018.
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