‘Black Widow’ Director on Film’s “Heart”

Black Widow director Cate Shortland spoke to BackstageOL about the “heart” of the film and the preparation that went into the latest entry into the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Shortland will be the first woman to have sole credit as director for a franchise that will be 24 films in after this weekend. She is technically the second female director in the franchise – Anna Boden co-directed Captain Marvel with Ryan Fleck. The origin story will also kickstart Marvel’s “Phase Four.”

Shortland had two ideas she wanted audiences to experience in her MCU debut.

“Her humanity. And also, to make a really fun film,” said Shortland. “I wanted to make something with beautiful fight sequences and spectacle, but to always be centered on Natasha and her journey, and that she really deserves love… She just doesn’t think she does when the film begins. She’s totally alone, so it’s a great journey for her.”

Prior to her induction into the Disney mega-franchise, Shortland was an established filmmaker out of Australia. Her films have performed exceedingly well among Australian film festivals, including the selection of her film Lore as the Australian entry for the Best Foreign Language Oscar category that awards season.

Marvel Studios’ BLACK WIDOW
Black Widow/Natasha Romanoff (Scarlett Johansson)
Photo: Film Frame
©Marvel Studios 2020

Black Widow is one of the longest-tenured characters in the MCU, appearing in seven of the two dozen films.

Apart from the typical research that comes in the form of watching films and reading graphic novels, Shortland brushed up on her Russian history. She enlisted the help of a Russian historian to deliver an accurate depiction of the social and political climate of Natasha’s home country during her childhood.

Black Widow represents the largest-scale project Shortland has ever directed. She cites the experience of shooting a fight scene between Johansson and co-star Florence Pugh as a moment that made her realize the size of it all.

“We ended up shooting it for like two weeks and it was incredible… just to see what the girls could do and the stunt people, but also working with the cinematographers. It was just so much fun.”

Black Widow will be released in theaters and on Disney+ July 9.

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