Elizabeth Banks Asked To Direct Thor: Ragnarok, Marvel Never Replied

As she makes the rounds promoting Cocaine Bear, director Elizabeth Banks has let the cat out of the bag about a couple of her superhero film ambitions. For starters, she reached out to Marvel Studios about directing Thor: Ragnarok several years ago.

But Banks told Variety she never heard back about her Thor inquiry. "Nothing ever happened," she said. "No one called me. Taika Waititi got the job. Rightfully so." Part of the reason why she was attracted to the Marvel movie was to work on a more CGI-focused project, something that she's finally doing with Cocaine Bear. She previously helmed Pitch Perfect 2 and Charlie's Angels.

"I definitely wanted to make something muscular and masculine," Banks said. "I wanted to break down some of the mythology around what kinds of movies women are interested in making. For some bizarre reason, there are still executives in Hollywood who are like, 'I don't know if women can do technical stuff.'"

Banks was asked if she's contacted new DC Studios co-head James Gunn about a superhero film, since she starred in his 2006 film, Slither. The answer was no, though she did bring up her intrigue with a certain villain and hero. "I had a pitch for a Catwoman movie a while ago that I don't think will fit into the mandate right now," Banks said. "But maybe someday.”

That said, Banks might have regretted even mentioning these projects. For instance, she told Variety: "OK, I brought up Thor," she said. "You’re going to clickbait me in that f**king article now. I never should have said it out loud."

Now she didn't just talk about superheroes, of course. Banks also discussed Cocaine Bear, saying it will have serious gore. She revealed that she loves bloody stuff, growing up on Evil Dead.

We all can see the gnarly action for ourselves when Cocaine Bear premieres February 24.