Olivia Wilde Tapped for Untitled Female-Fronted Marvel Film, Rumored to Be Spider-Woman

Sony Pictures just took a big step in further developing their own cinematic universe of Marvel characters, tapping filmmaker Olivia Wilde to direct an untitled new film for the studio. Deadline brings word of the project which reportedly centers on a female character from their stable and is rumored to be none other than Spider-Woman. According to the trade Wilde considered passing on the film but reconsidered after realizing she could launch her own female-fronted superhero franchise. Wilde penned the script for the project with writing partner Katie Silberman, having previously collaborated on the hit 2019 indie film Booksmart. Amy Pascal will produce the project.

It’s unclear when exactly Wilde would direct the film, without even taking into account that the coronavirus pandemic is currently making domestic productions very difficult. As outlined in the report, Wilde, Silberman, and Pascal are already set to work together on another film, a Christmas comedy at Universal, which they hope to shoot before this new Sony Marvel project. That holiday title would also come after her next film, the New Line thriller Don’t Worry, Darling starring Florence Pugh, Chris Pine, Shia LaBeouf and Dakota Johnson, which is scheduled to start filming this fall. Wilde is an in-demand director, so this Marvel project could be a few years off.

Earlier this year a rumor began to spread that Sony had a different filmmaker in mind for this project as it was reported Game of Thrones and Breaking Bad director Michelle MacLaren was being eyed for the project. Furthermore this news, originally from Illuminerdi, that Sony had Tomb Raider’s Alicia Vikander in mind for the titular role. As project development goes it’s certainly possible that MacLaren had been in the mix and simply passed or was picked over, but it remains to be seen what talent will suit up for the film when it finally goes get in front of cameras.

As far as in-development projects go for Sony, this one joins a long list of titles the studio has put in development. Other characters from the Spider-Man portfolio that Sony has reportedly eyed for the big screen are Silk, Madame Web, and the long gestating Black Cat and Silver Sable projects. The studio will next release the Morbius film starring Jared Leto in March of next year with Venom: Let There Be Carnage debuting afterward in October.

Though a connection between the Spider-Man films produced with Marvel Studios was spotted in the Morbius trailer, the relationship between these other Sony films and the Marvel Cinematic Universe is still a big question mark.