'Berlin Syndrome' director Cate Shortland reportedly has been on the shortlist but two other filmmakers, Amma Asante and Maggie Betts, are also in heavy consideration for the movie.
- June 22, 2018
AceShowbiz - Marvel Studios is currently narrowing the list of potential directors for the standalone "Black Widow" movie. Australian filmmaker Cate Shortland, who is known for her works on "Somersault", "Lore" and the recent one "Berlin Syndrome", reportedly has been on the director shortlist. However, two other filmmakers, Amma Asante and Maggie Betts, are also in heavy consideration for the director's chair.
Shortland, along with Asante and Betts, is among the final three candidates out of 49 contenders. The three reportedly have met Kevin Feige, the president of Marvel Studios, and Black Widow depicter Scarlett Johansson.
Asante is best known for her work on "Belle". The movie tells about a mixed-race daughter of a Royal Navy Admiral and an enslaved African woman, who is raised by her aristocratic uncle in 18th-century England. "Belle" is based on a real person named Dido Elizabeth Belle.
Betts, meanwhile, is known for writing and directing her 2017 film "Novitiate" and a documentary film entitled "The Carrier". "Novitiate" revolves around a young woman in the era of Vatican II who struggles to understand her newly selected religion as she strives to become a nun. The film earned a nomination for the Grand Jury Prize at Sundance Film Festival.
The three candidates were not the only ones who met Marvel's president to discuss the project. There were also Turkish director Deniz Gamze Erguven, who is best known for directing Academy Award-nominated film "Mustang", and "The Rider" director Chloe Zhao.
Marvel has hired Jac Schaeffer to write the script for "Black Widow". Schaeffer, who previously worked on the script for "Olaf's Frozen Adventure", is chosen after Feige met several other candidates.
Black Widow was introduced in Marvel's "Iron Man 2" before appearing in other Marvel Cinematic Universe movies such as "The Avengers", "Captain America: The Winter Soldier", "Avengers: Age of Ultron", "Captain America: Civil War" and the recent one "Avengers: Infinity War". Johansson stated that she liked playing Black Widow, and Black Widow solo film would have the chance to explore the character.
"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," the actress said.
