The 'Black Widow' Movie Officially Has A Director

By Alyssa Fikse | Film | July 12, 2018 |

By Alyssa Fikse | Film | July 12, 2018 |

Despite the fact that we are now 20 movies deep in the MCU (Twenty! Movies! Deep!), we have so far not had a female-led film or a female directed film. Jesus, let that sink in. I am admittedly a big Marvel fan, but seeing the facts laid out like that is a straight-up bummer. HOWEVER! Marvel is finally coming around and has announced that Cate Shortland will be helming the Black Widow movie, that is actually happening (should have happened seven years ago) according to The Hollywood Reporter.

Shortland will be the second female director in the MCU, following Captain Marvel’s co-director Anna Boden. There is no news on the plot or timeline of the film, but I personally am hoping for a post-Avengers 4 Natasha Romanov instead of a prequel. The script will be written by Jac Schaeffer, who is also behind the upcoming Dirty Rotten Scoundrels remake Nasty Women starring Anne Hathaway and Rebel Wilson.

Shortland isn’t exactly a well-known name, but she did direct 2017’s excellent Berlin Syndrome, which was terrifying and should be given a look in a post/current #MeToo world. She beat out Amma Asante, Maggie Betts, Melanie Laurent, and Kimberly Pierce for the gig, and was apparently championed by Scarlett Johansson to be the final pick. Ah yes, Scarlett Johansson. Kind of throws a bucket of ice water on the whole thing. Still, I am in favor of women getting their shot at high profile gigs like this, so ultimately this is good news.

Sometimes I remember the fact that Emily Blunt turned down Black Widow back in the Iron Man 2 days and get very sad. Is it really too late to recast?