After almost half of a year looking, Marvel Studios have found its director for Black Widow, starring Scarlett Johansson, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Cate Shortland has landed the job in the director’s chair, after Marvel met with 70-75 potential directors.
Cate Shortland is an Australian director and her most recent film was Berlin Syndrome, a thriller from 2017, that starred Teresa Palmer. She is most known for her film, Lore, which follows the children of Nazis in the aftermath of World War II.
In June, according to The Hollywood Reporter Marvel had narrowed their search down to a shortlist that included Amma Asante (Belle, A United Kingdom), Maggie Betts (Novitiate), Melanie Laurent (Galveston) and Kimberly Pierce (Boys Don’t Cry) and ultimately Shortland was selected. It’s said that Scarlett Johansson had pushed for Shortland to get the job, as she admired Shortland’s handling of the female protagonists in Lore, a film about a young woman who leads her siblings through Nazi Germany during the Allied invasion. Jac Schaeffer has written the most recent draft for Black Widow. She also wrote the upcoming female-centric remake of Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, Nasty Women.
Much like Marvel’s other female led feature film Captain Marvel, Black Widow will reportedly take place before the events of the first Avengers movie. Whether that means we’ll see Natasha’s work for the Russians is still up for speculation.
In the meantime, Captain Marvel is scheduled to be released in theaters on March 8, 2019.
