At long last, the Black Widow standalone film that fans have been begging for since she appeared in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) eight years ago has reportedly taken a promising step by hiring a scriptwriter.
Citing unnamed sources, reports reveal that Marvel president Kevin Feige has met with several candidates and ultimately tapped "The Blacklist" alum Jac Schaeffer to pen the potential spin-off.
Schaeffer is an up-and-coming screenwriter who gained attention for penning "The Shower," a comedy about an alien invasion during a baby shower. Her script caught the eye of Anne Hathaway, who quickly attached herself to star in the pic. She is currently developing "Nasty Women," a remake of Dirty Rotten Scoundrels starring Hathaway, Rebel Wilson, and Alex Sharp.
This is the first bit of official news about the project moving forward in development, although the insiders did clarify that this does not guarantee it will make it to the big screen. Apparently, the movie is still in very early stages right now and has yet to be greenlit.
First debuting in 2010's "Iron Man 2," Black Widow has appeared in five MCU films so far with Scarlett Johansson playing the role and she is slated to return later this year in "Avengers: Infinity War" and its fourth untitled installment in 2019. As the first female Avenger in the MCU, the character has gained immense popularity, but she has been relegated to a mere supporting player in all the films she has appeared in.
There have been a lot of talks about a potential Black Widow film over the years. Johansson herself said she would want to make it happen, as has Marvel boss Kevin Feige -- reiterating last year that the company is "creatively and emotionally" committed to developing the spin-off.
All in all, this is not the confirmation everybody has been waiting for, but it is a good sign. Should it advance into production, it will be the studio's second female-centric standalone movie following "Captain Marvel." Starring Brie Larson, the movie is set for release March 6 next year. Meanwhile, Black Widow will be back on the big screen this May 3 in "Avengers: Infinity War."
