When it was announced that Cate Shortland was Marvel Studios’ choice to take on “Black Widow,” film fans were pretty shocked. Judging by her previous efforts, including the indie dramas “Lore” and “Berlin Syndrome,” the filmmaker wasn’t an obvious choice to make the leap to blockbuster superhero filmmaking. However, as Marvel Studios has done in the past (with great success), Shortland was given the chance to flex her filmmaking muscles on a $200 million blockbuster. But the filmmaker wasn’t sure that was the right move, at first. In fact, she flat-out wanted to say no.
Speaking to Variety, Shortland talked about the process that went into her accepting the filmmaking challenge, “Black Widow.” Not only was it set to be a huge blockbuster featuring one of the biggest stars on the planet (Scarlett Johansson), but the film is also the feature that kick starts Phase 4 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. That’s a lot of pressure for any director, let alone one that has no big-budget experience.
“I told my manager in L.A., ‘There’s no way I can do this movie, and I’m not sure why they’re asking me. It’s crazy, the whole endeavor,’” Shortland explained. “And then she never told them no.”
READ MORE: ‘Black Widow’ Director Thinks A Sequel Could Happen Without Scarlett Johansson
But even though Shortland wanted to turn down Marvel Studios, “Black Widow” star Scarlett Johansson wouldn’t let it go. She said her mind was set on Shortland directing the film “from the beginning.” That said, it wasn’t a walk in the park for Johansson to get Shortland on board.
“It was very important to me that the person that directed this film had to have made a masterpiece and then some other good movies,” Johansson said with a laugh. “One masterpiece, you know? And I really think ‘Lore’ is really so close to — I mean, it’s a perfect film.”
She continued, “She was very elusive. It was very hard to find her.”
As we all know now, Shortland eventually agreed to do the feature, but she still had reservations about how much control she’d have creatively, as everyone has heard the horror stories about major studio blockbusters. However, when the director first started to bring her own style and tone to the film, she found encouragement from Marvel Studios’ president, Kevin Feige, to go further.
“Kevin said, ‘Make it more truthful, make it more visceral,’” Shortland said. “As soon as they saw what I was doing, they pushed me to go further. And I think that’s why Kevin is an amazing producer. Because he sees what you try to create, and he encourages you to do it more honestly, I suppose.”
And if the reviews are any indication, it appears Shortland has been able to make the transition from indie director to blockbuster filmmaker without missing a beat. So, it’s probably for the best that Scarlett Johansson kept bugging her to take on “Black Widow.”
“Black Widow” arrives on Disney+ Premier Access (for $30) and in theaters on July 9.
