Marvel’s ‘Black Widow’ Movie Reportedly Considering Cate Shortland To Direct

Marvel fans have long expressed interest in seeing Black Widow get her own solo film, and it seems the studio already has a director in mind.

Scarlett Johansson’s Black Widow has been a consistent presence in Marvel’s cinematic universe, appearing most recently in Avengers: Infinity War. After a long wait, it seems Marvel is finally looking to put the super spy in her own film, and according to Deadline Cate Shortland is on the short list to direct.

Shortland is known best for projects like Somersault, Lore, and her most recent work in Berlin Syndrome. That film is a horror-like thriller, and while we don’t expect Black Widow to carry all of that over (especially Berlin Syndrome’s basic premise), it does give you a sense of how Shortland can build tension amidst picturesque backdrops. If she can bring that to the world of Black Widow, this could be a great match.

Black Widow was introduced in Iron Man 2 and has since made appearances in The Avengers, Captain America: Winter Soldier, Avengers: Age of Ultron, Captain America: Civil War, and Avengers: Infinity War. She was one of the few left standing by film’s end and will reprise her role in the upcoming Avengers 4.

As for Johansson, she would love to see a Black Widow movie eventually happen, as long as the film fits well with where she is in life these days.

“I think that there is a…(laughs) it’s such a loaded question,” Johansson told ET. “Yes, I would want to in the right context and for the film to fit where I’m at, where I am in my life. I mean I’ve played this character for a long time. It’s been probably like 8 years or more, and so much has happened in my life, my life as a performer and happened in my life personally.”

“I love playing this character, and I think there is definitely an opportunity to explore the Widow as a woman who has kind of come into her own and is making independent and active choices for herself probably for once in her life. You know she hasn’t always had that possibility so if it fit that criteria then yes I would want to do it,” Johansson said.

Guess we’ll just have to wait and see, but it seems it just might happen.

Avengers: Infinity War is in theaters now. It will be followed by Ant-Man and the Wasp on July 6, 2018, Captain Marvel on March 8, 2019, the fourth Avengers movie on May 3, 2019, the sequel to Spider-Man: Homecoming on July 5, 2019, and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 in 2020.