Kristen Stewart says she will only do a Marvel movie if Greta Gerwig directs

The Marvel Cinematic Universe is fuelled by A-list actors including Natalie Portman, Charlize Theron, Scarlett Johansson, Brie Larson and, most recently, Dakota Johnson. But don’t expect Kristen Stewart to join the starry group anytime soon. On an episode of the podcast “Not Skinny but Not Fat,” Stewart said that although she is “a yes-man,” she wouldn’t want to be a part of the superhero franchise.

“I will likely never do a Marvel movie,” she said. “That sounds like nightmare actually.” Stewart revealed her hesitation to join a Marvel project after she and podcast host Amanda Hirsch talked about Johnson’s headline-making press tour for the studio’s “Madame Web.”

While she noted that it would be “so stupid” for her to be picky with projects, she said she gravitates toward films that allow for more creative freedom and expression. “The system would have to change. You’d have to put so much money and so much trust into one person, and I think Dakota mentioned this as well, it doesn’t happen,” Stewart said. “What ends up happening is the algorithmic, weird experience where you can’t feel personal at all about it. But maybe the world changes ...”

“Madame Web” was a box office disappointment, and Johnson herself said during the press tour that she hadn’t seen the film. She added one condition that would get her to sign on to a Marvel pic without hesitation: if director Greta Gerwig were in charge.

“If Greta Gerwig asked me to do a Marvel movie, then I would do it,” she said, laughing. She later added that she’s a “super, super, duper fan of ‘Barbie.’” “She’s my favorite. I’m obsessed with her,” she said. Stewart also reflected on her previous roles during the podcast interview, noting that she would have broken up with “Twilight” character Edward Cullen — played by her then-boyfriend, Robert Pattinson — if she was in her character Bella’s position.

“He was trying to sort of control whether or not she made choices for herself, and that — I would have broken up with him immediately,” she said. “You gotta let a girl make her own choices.” She also poked fun at the “Twilight” series, saying that “a drinking game is the best way to watch those movies.”

Stewart’s latest project, “Love Lies Bleeding,” hit theaters on March 15 after premiering at the Sundance Film Festival in January. Stewart stars opposite Katy O’Brian in the sexy, genre-bending film. Director Rose Glass told The Times that while shooting the film, Stewart reached a place where she felt she had “permission to take some big swings.” The critical response to the movie is overwhelmingly positive, with the Rotten Tomatoes rating at 93%, which Stewart said on the podcast that she is “so excited about.”  “It’s a very odd combo of a lot of different flavors. It’s like if you were to go to Baskin-Robbins and get rainbow sherbet and rocky road,” Stewart said, adding that the film is hard to describe. “Just go see it.”

Tribune News Service