Scarlett Johansson's BLACK WIDOW Movie Finds Its Director In LORE Helmer Cate Shortland
After a worldwide search, Scarlett Johansson's long-rumored Black Widow standalone movie has finally found its director in Cate Shortland, an Australian director best known for the Nazi drama Lore.
The Hollywood Reporter has learned that Marvel Studios has tapped Cate Shortland to helm their upcoming Black Widow standalone movie, which will star 4x Golden Globe-nominee Scarlett Johansson in the title role.
While plot details remain under wraps, THR essentially confirms that the story will indeed be set before the events of The Avengers and will tell the tale of how the former Russian spy became a full-fledged superheroine. The setting also makes us wonder whether we'll finally see what happened in Budapest and/or if we'll see how she first crossed paths with Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson), Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner), and the Winter Soldier (Sebastian Stan).
Her selection comes after a lengthy global search that saw Marvel Studios meet with over 75 potential directors in order to ensure that they found their perfect candidate. Shortland ultimately beat out fellow finalists Amma Asante (Belle) and Maggie Betts (Novitiate) as well as second runner-ups Melanie Laurent (Galveston) and Kimberly Pierce (Boys Don't Cry).
The Australian Shortland is best known for her critically acclaimed 2012 drama Lore and most recently helmed the Teresa Palmer-led thriller Berlin Syndrome. Her handling of a female protagonist in Lore actually caught the eye of Johansson, who vouched for her in the selection process.
Jac Shaeffer recently completed the script. No word yet on a production start date, but it does seem like it may begin rolling cameras sooner than later.