A new report indicates Marvel Studios has hired Ned Benson to rewrite the solo Black Widow film.
Collider reports that Ned Benson has been hired to rewrite the original script written by Jac Schaeffer. They note their sources “were impressed with Benson’s work on [easyazon_link identifier=”B00SML5YOG” locale=”US” tag=”boundingintocomics-20″]The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby[/easyazon_link].”
Collider also theorizes that Benson was brought in by Scarlett Johansson based on rumors that Johannson is expected to star in an adaptation of the Dallas Morning News seven-part articles My Aryan Princess for Amy Pascal’s Pascal Pictures. Benson was allegedly hired to adapt the newspaper articles.
The Black Widow film will be directed by Cate Shortland. Marvel Studios reportedly interviewed over 70 candidates for the job before deciding on Shortland. The Hollywood Reporter indicated the focus was to find a female filmmaker and they spent over half a year before choose Shortland.
The film was reportedly supposed to begin filming later this month, but a new report from Film Magazine Production Weekly’s listing indicated filming wouldn’t begin until June in the United Kingdom.
The film is rumored to be the first R-Rated film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
It’s unclear what exactly the plot will involve and given the film is getting rewritten things are more than likely to change, but there have been rumors that the film will be a prequel movie taking place 15 years after the fall of the Soviet Union and will feature Sebastian Stan’s Winter Soldier.
Johansson described what she would like to see in a Black Widow movie back in March of last year:
“I love playing this character and I think there’s 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. She hasn’t always had that possibility. If it fit that criteria then, yes, I would want to do it.”
Scarlett Johansson is expected to make $25 million for the upcoming film.
As for Jac Schaeffer, who wrote the original script she will reportedly be the showrunner on the rumored Vision and Scarlet Witch TV show that will debut on Disney+.