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“I think the movies that I like that are big action movies also have the human connectivity piece,” Johansson said, when asked about the prosect of directing in the MCU. “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.”
Eleanor the Great is Johansson’s first time directing a feature film. It’s written by Tory Kamen, and it stars June Squibb as a 94-year-old woman moving from Florida to New York City. Once there, she strikes up an unlikely friendship with 19-year-old student. The movie has a few other familiar faces from the MCU in it — Chiwetel Ejiofor and Erin Kellyman.
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Seeing Johansson back in the MCU as a director rather than a star would be a great way to keep her in the fold without reversing the story arc her character has already been through. Johansson’s Natasha Romanoff joined the MCU very early in the game, and she wore a lot of hats over the years from bringing the Avengers together, grounding on pragmatic issues, and guiding their moral compass at times. As it is, her departure from the story has a lot of heart, and bringing her back would run a high risk of cheapening that.
For Johansson to direct a superhero film, however, we’ll have to see how her directorial debut is received. Eleanor the Great screened at Cannes on Tuesday, but there’s no word yet on what the plan is for a wider release.
