What’s nice is that CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE WINTER SOLDIER brings us more screentime with Black Widow, and gives us a deeper look into who she is. Kevin Feige dished on this in the latest issue of Total Film:

Black Widow's whole arc [in The Winter Soldier] is coming to terms with her history - that she's been a spy, and spies aren't necessarily trustworthy."

Don't forget, Black Widow also has major screentime in THE AVENGERS: AGE OF ULTRON. Wait, there's a double bonus-- It seems that Marvel agrees that her backstory is worth fleshing out in a solo film which gets it closer to becoming a reality:

We start filming the next Avengers film at the end of March. [Black] Widow's part in that is very big. We learn more about her past and learn more about where she came from and how she became in that film. The notion of exploring that even further in her own film would be great, and we have some development work with that.

Feige also makes reference to that significant shift that CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE WINTER SOLDIER writer Joe Russo warned us about in January. Basically, some awesome hardcore shit is coming our way, and you better be buckled up for the ride:

We wanted to change the dynamic of the cinematic universe with this film. We wanted Cap and really the entire cinematic universe to be very different at the end of Winter Solider than it is at the beginning. Therefore when we meet the Avengers at the top of Age of Ultron, it's a very different landscape than we left them at the end of the film film. Partially that's because we love the rhythm that the comic books have developed - each of the characters appear in their runs, occasionally they get together for a big event or crossover series, they part again, and then they come back together again.

Four contenders in particular have either met or are about to meet with Marvel higher-ups to bring the adventures of Marvel's Sorcerer Supreme to the screen: Mark Andrews, who co-wrote and co-directed Pixar's Brave; Nikolaj Arcel, who wrote and directed last year's best foreign film Oscar-nominated entry A Royal Affair; Dean Israelite, the helmer behind Paramount's upcoming sci-fi time-travel movie Welcome to Yesterday; and Jonathan Levine, the filmmaker behind Warm Bodies and 50/50.

Seeing Arcel’s name on the list made the most impact here because it really lit up a different story that I’ve been hearing. According to one pretty solid Marvel-adjacent source, Arcel’s Royal Affair star Mads Mikkelsen apparently is, or has been, somewhere in the mix for the film’s early casting discussions.

I’m still trying to find another source on that, or to clarify which part it would be, and whether or not Mikkelsen might have already passed or been passed over. And there were other names mentioned at the same time, that I’m also still investigating…

It doesn’t necessarily follow that Arcel would bring Mikkelsen or Mikkelsen bring Arcel, of course. We could just as easily see the actor on board with Levine, or Israelite.

I’m also particularly intrigued by the inclusion of Mark Andrews on this list. For a while at least he was developing an original sci-fi film at Pixar and, if he does take on Strange, any development on that would have to go on hold or stop outright. Not to say it already hasn’t, which is a real possibility if he’s out there looking for other gigs.

There’s a new script for Strange in the works right now with Jonathan Aibel and Glenn Berger said to be “in the mix” to take a seat at the keyboard. They’re probably best known for their work on the Kung Fu Panda* films, including the upcoming part 3, but they’ve also written on the second Spongebob Squarepants movie and a Monster Trucks toon.

We caught up Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige last night at the screening launch for the Marvel One-Shot: All Hail the King, available exclusively on the Thor: The Dark World Blu-ray out today, during which time we got to chat him up about all those Doctor Strange reports and more.

IGN Movies: I'm a huge Doctor Strange fan. There are a lot of rumors swirling now. How far along are you guys with that?

Kevin Feige: Well, that article [from The Hollywood Reporter] was true that we're meeting a lot of people now. That article was not true about who we're meeting or what level anybody is. But we're actively looking.

IGN: It's a very eclectic mix. Are you actually looking for directors who have experience beyond just the fantasy realm for this? Certainly, the Russo Brothers and Cap 2 --

Feige: Of course, of course. We always look at a wide range of people with a wide range of backgrounds. There's only one criteria: do something that we think is really cool. [Laughs] That's about it.

IGN: What do you make of those recent rumors about Johnny Depp having been approached about playing Doctor Strange? Was there ever any truth to that? Did you guys ever reach out to him?

Feige: No, no. When you have a project that's been around as long as Doctor Strange, there is sometimes, "Oh, I've met with Stan about this! Or I did that!" So Strange is one of those projects that predates me by a long shot. Obviously, the character does, but even in its cinematic brewing. So there's a lot of things that have happened before me, and I've been here 14 years. So that's a long time ago. I don't know if that happened then.

IGN: Are you guys looking for a star to play Doctor Strange?

Feige: You know, I would say that we're pretty transparent, right? Doctor Strange would be our -- well, depending on when we make it, it could be our 13th, 14th, 15th movie, right? I think if you're looking to track our decision-making and how we've done things, we have a pretty wide track record now where you can sort of see. So, no, a movie star is not required, but that doesn't mean a movie star wouldn't be great. It just depends.

IGN: How do you feel about the overwhelmingly positive reaction to the Guardians of the Galaxy trailer?

Feige: Well, I was very pleased with it, because it's still early days for us, as the movie is coalescing and formulating itself in the cutting room, but there are a few things that we would be locked into: the cast, their looks, our use of music and our very unique tone. The fact that that's what that teaser is about and that's what people are embracing, there are a lot of happy people in the offices, that people are into this.

IGN: How much are you guys hands-on at all with the X-Men movies? Does Fox simply say, "We're gonna do this"?

Feige: There are some contractual requirements on both ends, but it's minimal.

IGN: At what point do you think we'll see casting for the Marvel Netflix series?

Feige: That's a good question, and Jeph Loeb and the TV group would better answer that. I'm actually sure when that would be.

IGN: Are you guys looking to film this year? Isn't it supposed to be a 2015 premiere?

Feige: It might be. They're working on them now, but I don't know the day-to-day.

IGN: Comic-Con this year -- are we actually going to get Phase 3 announcements?

Feige: You know, Comic-Con always comes together, and we do the best we can with what we've got at the time. So it remains to be seen what we'll have between now and two weeks before Comic-Con.

IGN: We should just be happy that we're getting Guardians.

Feige: Please, please!