The long-awaited Black Widow stand-alone movie is one big step closer to fruition. After meeting with over 70 potential directors, Marvel has decided on Australian filmmaker Cate Shortland. The Hollywood Reporter broke the news. The Scarlett Johansson-starrer will mark Marvel’s second female-led film after Brie Larson takes the lead in “Captain Marvel,” set to bow in March 2019. Anna Boden is a co-director on that film.
Reportedly set before the events of the first “Avengers” film, the Black Widow pic sees the former Russian spy stepping onto center stage. No further plot details are known.
Shortland most recently directed 2017’s “Berlin Syndrome,” a drama about photojournalist (Teresa Palmer) visiting Berlin whose romance with a local (Max Riemelt) takes a disturbing turn when she realizes he’s holding her captive in his apartment. Shortland’s other credits include award-winning Nazi drama “Lore” and coming-of-age pic “Somersault.”
“In the last 40 years, we have had a real push from women to be involved in the film industry in Australia. This becomes harder and harder as opportunities for training and female-centered funds drop away,” Shortland told us last year. “I believe women haven’t ‘made it,’ and this is obvious when we look at the percentage of films and TV series made by women. We need to push for more specialized female-centered film funding, training, and support.”
THR writes that the search for a director lasted over half a year and “a female filmmaker was the priority even as the search stalled at one point and the studio looked at male helmers.” Deadline revealed that Shortland was the favorite last month. It seems that Shortland had the inside track, and while the source mentions which other female helmers were considered finalists, it’s unclear whether they met with Johansson.
Jac Schaeffer penned the most recent draft of the pic. She’s also behind “The Hustle,” the upcoming “Dirty Rotten Scoundrels” remake starring Anne Hathaway and Rebel Wilson. The con-artist comedy hits theaters May 10, 2019.
