Casting News: BLACK WIDOW’s Web Widens
Variety is reporting that Florence Pugh may be joining the cast of the solo Black Widow movie with Scarlett Johansson.
According to the article, Pugh has been the front-runner since last fall, but Marvel auditioned other actresses at the beginning of the year, only to circle back to Pugh as their top choice. She’s gained positive acclaim after her turn in Fighting With My Family, and has been a rising star with her performances in The Little Drummer Girl and Outlaw King.
No other details are available as of yet, although that hasn’t kept fans from speculating already about her role. Is she the villain? A protégé? Given that she’s very quickly becoming an in-demand performer, it’s not likely her role will be small.
The film is finally moving forward after years of fans pushing for Natasha Romanov to be featured in her own film (and a lot of us still wonder about Budapest…). No word on whether this will take place after events in Avengers: Endgame or before, although the advances in the de-aging digital enhancements may make it possible for the story to span quite a spread of time to allow for an origin story of some sort.
Cate Shortland is on board to direct from a screenplay by Jac Schaeffer. Kevin Feige, as usual, is set to produce.
The news comes just days after Marvel unexpectedly released a trailer for Avengers: Endgame and announced the return of James Gunn to the director’s chair for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3. All of this news comes just days before the expected closing of the sale of 20th Century Fox to Disney, which is set to happen on March 20.
