'Black Widow' Reportedly Adding 'Mission: Impossible - Fallout' Cinematographer

While Marvel Studios has yet to officially announce Black Widow, the superhero powerhouse is steadily working through the development phase for the next Avengers spinoff film.

After securing a director and signing megastar Scarlett Johansson to a huge deal, Marvel is now recruiting experienced director of photography Rob Hardy to join the production crew, according to a report from Discussing Film.

Hardy's most recent work came in Mission: Impossible - Fallout, the sixth film in the franchise, released in theaters earlier this year. The movie was a critical and commercial success, and Hardy had the difficult task of filming intense action scenes that included HALO jumps from airplanes and a helicopter highjacking-and-chase sequence.

Hardy could make a great team with oncoming director Cate Shortland. It seems like Marvel Studios is trying to assemble a crew that can help make the intense action sequences that will undoubtedly be a part of the Black Widow movie, though that may come at the expense of directors who want the opportunity to try something new.

Argentinian director Lucrecia Martel revealed to The Pioneer that she was considered to helm Black Widow but wouldn't have to worry about vital sequences in the film.

"I received an e-mail from Marvel for a meeting. Because they were looking for directors for Black Widow. So I went to the [10th-anniversary] reunion. I actually signed this thing where I can't talk about that reunion. Marvel and other such production houses are trying to involve more female filmmakers," Martel shared in October with The Pioneer. "They also told me, 'Don't worry about the action scenes, we will take care of that.' I was thinking, 'Well I would love to meet Scarlett Johansson but also I would love to make the action sequences.'"

It remains to be seen how the film will shape up, but a rumored production synopsis could potentially reveal what fans can expect from Black Widow:

"At birth the Black Widow (aka Natasha Romanova) is given to the KGB, which grooms her to become its ultimate operative. When the U.S.S.R. breaks up, the government tries to kill her as the action movies to present-day New York, where she is a freelance operative. The standalone film will find Romanoff living in the United States 15 years after the fall of the Soviet Union."

Black Widow is rumored to hit theaters sometime in 2020.