'Black Widow': Marvel Hires Ned Benson to Rewrite Script

Marvel Studios has reportedly hired Ned Benson to rewrite Scarlett Johansson's Black Widow movie.

Benson is best known for writing and directing The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby, a set of three films - Him, Her, and Them - about a married couple in New York.

Collider speculates that Benson may have brought on by Johansson. Benson is working on a film titled My Aryan Princess. The movie is an adaptation of a Dallas Morning News article series about a woman going up against the Aryan Brotherhood in Texas. Rumor has it that the film is a vehicle for Johansson. Whether she ends up in the role or not, there's a good chance she saw Benson's work and pushed to have him brought onto Black Widow.

Black Widow, which is operating under the working title "Blue Bayou," had its production start date pushed back two months into June. A script re-write could explain the delay.

Cate Shortland (Lore) will direct Black Widow. Rumors suggest the film will place before the events of 2012's Avengers, following Natasha Romanoff on one of her espionage missions. The film will be Marvel's second film headlined by a woman, following March's Captain Marvel. The Black Widow movie also may be Marvel's first R-rated movie, according to reports.

Johansson debuted as Black Widow in Iron Man 2 in 2010. Since then, she's become a mainstay of the Avengers movies and an important supporting character in the Captain America sequels. Her past has remained a mystery. In Marvel's The Avengers, fans learned that she had "red in her ledger." In Avengers: Age of Ultron, fans learned more about her experience in the Red Room. The Soviet program brainwashed and trained young women like Natasha to become spies.

Stan Lee, Don Rico, and Don Heck created Black Widow. She first appeared in Tales of Suspense #52 in 1964 as a new Iron Man villain. At first a Russian spy, Black Widow defected to the United States and later joined the Avengers. Since then, she has become a trusted ally of Captain America, Daredevil, and other Marvel Comics heroes.

Are you excited about the Black Widow movie? What do you think about the film getting a rewrite? Let us know in the comments.

The Black Widow movie doesn't have a release date.

Upcoming Marvel Cinematic Universe movies include Captain Marvel on March 8th; Avengers: Endgame on April 26th; Spider-Man: Far From Home on July 5th.