Scarlett Johansson says she’s open to directing a Marvel movie

Scarlett Johansson is making quite a splash at the Cannes Film Festival—not as a Marvel superhero this time, but stepping into the director's chair. The 40-year-old actress, who’s famously known for her role as Natasha Romanoff/Black Widow in eight Marvel films, debuted her directorial project, Eleanor the Great, on May 20 in the Un Certain Regard section. The film, featuring June Squibb and Chiwetel Ejiofor, was met with a five-minute standing ovation.

Scarlett Johansson says she’s open to directing a Marvel movie next

While Scarlett Johansson has made it clear that she’s not returning as Black Widow—“Natasha is dead. She is dead. She's dead. Okay?”—she’s definitely keeping the door ajar for other possibilities. In an interview at Cannes, she expressed that she would “definitely” be interested in directing a Marvel film. “It could be, it would be fun,” she added with enthusiasm.

Scarlett elaborated, “I think the movies that I like that are big action movies also have the human connectivity piece. Even producing 'Black Widow' and being a part of the production of that, and the development of the story, and the story between Natasha and Yelena… (there is), I think, a way of doing it. A way of maintaining the integrity of the idea of human connection, family, disappointment, all of the things that were themes in (Eleanor the Great), and doing it in a giant way in a giant universe, there’s ways of doing that… So, yeah, definitely, it could be, it would be fun.”

This new direction comes as Eleanor the Great, a poignant story about a 94-year-old woman starting anew after personal loss, garners Scarlett Johansson acclaim for her directorial vision. With veteran Marvel stars either returning or taking on new roles, fans are now left wondering: could Scarlett Johansson's next chapter be behind the camera for a future Avengers film?