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Rumors have swirled for months about Marvel Studios’s choice of director for its “Black Panther” film. Some have suggested that a black director should helm the studio’s first stand-alone black superhero movie, but actor Anthony Mackie doesn’t seem to agree.

In an interview with The Daily Beast, the “Captain America” star said that he doesn’t think it’s “important at all” to have a black director for the much-anticipated flick.

“As a director your job is to tell a story. You know, they didn’t get a horse to direct ‘Seabiscuit’! The thing is I don’t think the race of the director has to do with their ability to tell a story,” he said. “I think it’s all about the director’s ability to be able to relate to that story and do it justice.”

So far “Selma” director Ava DuVernay and “Fruitvale Station” director Ryan Coogler have been rumored to be in the running for the director’s chair. Duvernay told HuffPost in July that she passed on the opportunity, adding “it wasn’t for me.”

Mackie has previously expressed interest in playing the lead role of T’Challa in “Black Panther,” but Marvel has since announced Chadwick Boseman will play the role. Boseman’s role is part of a larger, five picture deal he has with the studio, beginning with 2016’s “Captain America: Civil War.”

“Black Panther” is tentatively set to hit theaters in February 2018. Read more of Anthony Mackie’s interview with the Daily Beast here.

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