The Marvel Cinematic Universe is in a fascinating place right now, as the studio and Disney are keeping their cards extremely close to the chest. While this helps keep the contents of Avengers: Endgame a complete mystery, it's also caused some anxiety amongst the fandom, which is used to Marvel's extensive release schedules. One of the few projects to be announced after Phase Three is the Black Widow movie, which will finally give Scarlett Johansson's signature character a chance to lead her own blockbuster.
The Black Widow movie is set to be directed by Cate Shortland, but she obviously wasn't the only one approached to helm Natasha Romanoff's highly anticipated solo movie. Argentinian director Lucrecia Martel recently revealed she was also approached to helm Black Widow's solo flick, and it seems that Marvel Studios made it a point to hire a female filmmaker for the project. As she told it,
I do believe another female director is making the movie (now). What they told me in the meeting was 'we need a female director because we need someone who is mostly concerned with the development of Scarlett Johansson's character.'
Not only is Black Widow finally getting her moment in the spotlight in Phase Four, but it seems the studio was very concerned with having a female director helm the project. Mostly so that the person at the head of the project can fully develop the title character.
Over the past few years, there has been a ton of conversation in the film industry about inclusivity. In the wake of the #OscarsSoWhite and #TimesUp movements, the call for diversity both in front and behind of the camera has been deafening. The MCU has been allowing people of color and women to take larger roles, and the Black Widow movie will finally give Scarlett Johansson's character the chance to take center stage.
In her same appearance at the Mumbai Film Festival (via Daily Pioneer), Lucrecia Martel described how her conversations with Marvel Studios went. And while the MCU made a conscious effort to hire a female director, it seems the studio didn't want Martel to handle things like action sequences. She elaborated, saying:
They also told me 'Don't worry about the action scenes, we will take care of that.' I was thinking, well I would love to meet Scarlett Johansson but also I would love to make the action sequences. Companies are interested in female filmmakers but they still think action scenes are for male directors. The first thing I asked them was maybe if they could change the special effects because there's so many laser lights... I find them horrible. Also the soundtrack of Marvel films is quite horrendous. Maybe we disagree on this, but it's really hard to watch a Marvel film. It's painful to the ears to watch Marvel films
Well, that was honest. Lucrecia Martel has certain things she does and doesn't like about the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and property's music seems to be a particular point of contention. That, and the fact that the studio reportedly didn't want her to handle things like action sequences.
CinemaBlend will keep you updated on all things Black Widow, as the movie's details finally become public. You can catch the fan favorite character appear in Avengers: Endgame on April 26, 2019. In the meantime, check out our2019 release list to plan your trips to the movies in the New Year.
