Last week, a report surfaced that Marvel has met with a number of female directors for theirBlack Widowmovie, but it seems their search is much more extensive than previously believed. Variety reporter Justin Kroll revealed that more than “65 directors have met for theBlack Widowjob”, adding that Marvel is being, “extremely thorough on this one.” Unfortunately, Kroll didn’t offer any specific names who had met for the directing gig, or if there is even a front runner in place yet, but the studio is certainly doing their due diligence.
The report from last week revealed that female directors such as Deniz Gamze Erguven (Mustang), Chloe Zhao (The Rider), Amma Asante (A United Kingdom), Maggie Betts (Novitiate) and Angela Robinson (Professor Marston and the Wonder Women) were in contention for the coveted directorial gig. There has been talk of aBlack Widowmovie for years, and there has been talk that it will be part of the Marvel Phase 4 lineup withSpider-Man: Homecoming 2(June 21, 2025) andGuardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, which doesn’t have a release date yet.
Scarlett Johansson was introduced as Black Widow in the third MCU movie, 2010’sIron Man 2, and she’s been anintegral part of the Marvel Cinematic Universeever since. Black Widow has since appeared in 2012’sThe Avengers, 2014’sCaptain America: The Winter Soldier, 2015’sAvengers: Age of Ultron, 2016’sCaptain America: Civil Warand the current blockbusterAvengers: Infinity War. Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige hinted in 2016 that he wants to see aBlack Widowsolo movie, hinting that itwouldn’t happen until 2020, making it a part of the Phase 4 lineup, while a fan poll later that year revealed aBlack Widowmovie was the next solo movie they wanted to see.
Anthony Mackie even hinted in May 2016 that he wanted Black Widow to team up with The Falcon, whileThor: Ragnarokdirector Taikia Waititi expressed his interest in making aBlack Widowcomedy movie. The movie is actually moving forward though with a report from January revealing that writer Jac Schaeffer has been brought on to write the script, while another report claimed the writer will becollaborating with Scarlett Johansson on the script. There was also a report that claimed Scarlett Johansson was eyeing a record payday of $25 million, plus a potential $6 million in bonuses for a possible total of $31 million, but that was never confirmed.
Last month, Sebastian Stan expressed his interest inbringing the White Wolfinto the fold for thisBlack Widowmovie, while another report claimed thisBlack Widowmovie would be aprequel featuring the Winter Soldier. Still, as of now, no director or additional cast members have been confirmed yet, but if Marvel is aiming for a Phase 4 release in 2020, that means production may very well begin next year. Kevin Feige has also said in the past that he would not confirm any Phase 4 movies until afterAvengers 4is released, so we’ll have to wait and see what will be announced next year. Take a look at the tweet fromJustin Kroll’s Twitterbelow about Marvel’s search for theBlack Widowdirector.
