Director who turned down 'Black Widow' says the visual effects in Marvel movies are 'very ugly' and the music is 'horrible'

• Argentine director Lucrecia Martel originally met with Marvel to direct "Black Widow."
• She said she hasn't watched it since its release and called Marvel's visual effects "very ugly."

Scarlett Johansson made her Marvel debut in 2010's "Iron Man" as superspy Natasha Romanoff/Black Widow, but it wouldn't be until 2021 that fans would get to see her leading her own adventure in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

When it finally came to exploring more of Natasha's story in "Black Widow," Marvel was keen to give the project to a female director to ensure the character was handled properly, and approached a number of women for the job.

Although Cate Shortland ultimately landed the gig, Argentine director Lucrecia Martel also met with the studio.

However, speaking to The Film Stage, Martel said she hasn't seen the final movie, and criticized the studio for "poor" visual and sound effects.

"No, no, no. I didn't see 'Black Widow.' I tried to," said Martel.

She continued: "It turns out some of the Marvel films are available on planes so I've seen a few. I find the sound in them is absolutely in very poor taste, the visual effects, and the sound of the effects."

"It's the selection of the sounds that they're connecting to the effects, which is actually very ugly. And the way the music is used is actually horrible," Martel further explained.

The "Headless Woman" and "Zama" director recalled how Marvel met with numerous directors for "Black Widow," and she "would never have imagined" that she would be on the shortlist.

"I never thought that would be possible," she said.

Martel added that if she was to make a Marvel movie, it would have to involve her own vision for the universe.

"I would have loved to make a film with them but I would have had to provide something that I would like to see in that world," she explained.