Argentinian auteur Lucrecia Martel has revealed she was approached by Marvel to direct the forthcoming Black Widow film starring Scarlett Johansson, in what would have been a directorial choice remarkable even by Marvel’s idiosyncratic standards.

In comments reported by the Pioneer, Martel, director of Zama, La Ciénaga and The Headless Woman, told an audience at the Mumbai film festival that she “received an email from Marvel for a meeting ... because they were looking for directors for Black Widow.” She added that she had to sign a non-disclosure agreement about her meeting, but that “Marvel and other such production houses are trying to involve more female film-makers”.

However, Martel’s distinct lack of enthusiasm for Marvel’s output may have scuppered her chances. She added: “The first thing I asked them was maybe if they could change the special effects because there’s so many laser lights ... I find them horrible. Also the soundtrack of Marvel films is quite horrendous. Maybe we disagree on this, but it’s really hard to watch a Marvel film. It’s painful to the ears to watch Marvel films.”

In the event, Australian film-maker Cate Shortland (Berlin Syndrome, Lore) was announced as Black Widow’s director in July. Martel said that despite their attempts to recruit women directors, Marvel still mistrusted them in certain aspects of production. “They also told me, ‘Don’t worry about the action scenes, we will take care of that.’ I was thinking, well I would love to meet Scarlett Johansson, but also I would love to make the action sequences … Companies are interested in female film-makers, but they still think action scenes are for male directors.”

A film centring on Black Widow – also known as Natasha Romanova – has been in development since at least 2004; Romanova made her first appearance in the modern Marvel Cinematic Universe in 2010 when Johansson played her in Iron Man 2. The character features in all the subsequent Avengers films, including the forthcoming Avengers: Endgame, as well as two Captain America movies.

Martel made her name in the early 2000s as a chronicler of the self-regarding and morally bankrupt Argentinian middle-class. While her output has been sparse, she has become a firm favourite on the film festival circuit. Her latest film, Zama, has made many critics’ year-end lists, including the Guardian’s, and was Argentina’s submission for the best foreign language film for the 2018 Oscars.

Martel joked: “Just in case any of this is going to be on YouTube, I would love to make Black Widow.”