Scarlett Johansson Joins Taika Waititi For New Movie (That's Not 'Black Widow' ...)

Taika Waititi has already seemingly done the impossible (proved there’s room in the MCU for a fresh, interesting, and funny Thor film that people genuinely care about), but he’s not resting on his laurels just yet. His follow-up may prove to be another seemingly impossible task: making a lighthearted, satirical, imaginative romp through Nazi-era Germany!

And no, it’s not called What We Do In The Shadows Of The Third Reich, sadly. It’s called Jojo Rabbit, and it’s about a “10-year-old boy figuring out how to fit in in an increasingly fascistic Germany and creating an imaginary friend as a result,” according to The Hollywood Reporter. Waititi wrote the script, and his fellow Marvel family member Scarlett Johansson is in final negotiations to star as the boy’s mother.

And look — I’ll watch it. Even that one sentence description, paired with what I know of Waititi’s style, makes me insanely curious. BUT WHAT IF Johansson and Waititi enjoy working together? WHAT IF they get to chatting about, oh I dunno, that Black Widow stand-alone movie that’s in development. WHAT IF they realize that Waititi has an angle on it, and could get it off the ground?

I know, I know. Don’t count your cart before your horses hatch or whatever. And besides, Black Widow really deserves a female director to go with the female writer they’ve already hired. But if Marvel did decide to hire a dude, Waititi is probably one of the only male directors I wouldn’t be entirely mad at.