After much speculation, it’s been announced that Selma‘s Ava DuVernay will direct Marvel Studio’s forthcoming Black Panther movie, scheduled for a summer 2018 release. It is thought that by hiring DuVernay this early in the process, Marvel can have her on the set and benefit from her input during the filming of Captain America: Civil War, where Black Panther will make his first appearance.
Chadwick Boseman is already signed up to play Black Panther, which will make him the first African American to play a Marvel lead role. Similarly, DuVernay will become not only the first African-American to direct a Marvel feature, but also its first woman director. The production company has understandably been dogged in the past by criticism of their lack of diversity.