Cate Shortland To Direct Marvel’s BLACK WIDOW Movie

Fans have been asking for a Black Widow film since Scarlet Johansson’s amazing performance in Captain America: Winter Soldier. With Marvel Studios is set to move forward with the project. The studio has found its director. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Australian director Cate Shortland will helm the project from a script by blacklist screenwriter Jac Schaeffer. Marvel met with over 65 directors including Deniz Gamze Erguven (Mustang), Chloe Zhao (The Rider) and Amma Asante (A United Kingdom) before deciding on Shortland. Asante, as well as Maggie Betts (Novitiate), Melanie Laurent (Galveston) and Kimberly Pierce (Boys Don’t Cry) were also in the mix as well. Johansson’s Black Widow is reportedly set before the events of the first Avengers movie and sees the actress reprise the Russian spy turned super heroine. The movie will be Marvel’s second female-focused film after Captain Marvel, which is due to open March 8, 2019. It’s looking more likely that Black Widow may hit theaters July 2020.