Can Marvel move beyond just talking about an all-woman movie?

Can Marvel actually put together an all-female movie, or will it be up to Tessa Thompson to continue pushing for it?

On the first day that Black Panther is in theaters, albeit only in preview screenings, IGN (picked up by io9) has a new plug for an all-woman superhero movie from Tessa Thompson. Although she doesn’t confirm it’s happening, she says those magic words like “hopeful,” “really excited,” and so on when describing Marvel’s reaction to her previously stated desire to put together the ladies of the Marvel Cinematic Universe and have them completely own a movie.

And those words will, for a certain part of the fanbase, be enough to keep them going a little while longer. After all, Black Panther is in theaters this week! Thompson even mentioned Captain Marvel and Black Widow! Marvel is finally taking some steps forward.

While that should be acknowledged and praised — it’s certainly taken long enough, considering that this year marks the 10th anniversary of the MCU — that doesn’t mean that Marvel can or should rest on its laurels. It can certainly work beyond just allowing Thompson to keep hope alive, can’t it?

Sure, there’s a lot that goes into making a film, especially one that would by necessity be heavily tied to over a decade of continuity by the time it would even come close to reaching theaters. Taking care of the writing, acting, budget, directing, special effects and more takes time. However, Thompson keeps talking as though a Phase Four movie is a possibility.

Maybe she’s just playing coy. Perhaps she’s better at keeping Marvel secrets than some of her co-stars. But, at some point, perhaps it’s time that Marvel puts its money where its mouth is and confirms an all-female movie.

Not to say that it’s time or anything like that, but Black Panther is expected to make $165 million or more domestically this weekend and Wonder Woman cracked $800 million worldwide last year. It’s clear that not only would an all-female Marvel movie be a good step for representation on the big screen, it’s also financially viable.

Next: 5 heroines who need MCU movies

It’s just on Marvel to take those next steps.