‘Black Widow’: Blacklist Alum Jac Schaeffer to Write Marvel Movie

Film marks first standalone outing for Scarlett Johansson’s Marvel heroine

Marvel Studios has picked Blacklist Screenwriter Jac Schaeffer to write “Black Widow,” the first solo film featuring the marvel superhero played since 2010 by Scarlett Johansson, an individual with knowledge of the project told TheWrap.

Schaeffer made her feature screenwriting debut with the 2009 Tribeca film TiMER,” which she also directed. She wrote the 2014 Blacklist pick “The Shower,” a female-centric sci-fi action comedy with Anne Hathaway attached to star and produce, as well as “Nasty Women,” a remake of “Dirty Rotten Scoundrels” at MGM set to star Hathaway and Rebel Wilson. Schaeffer most recently penned the Disney short “Olaf’s Frozen Adventure,” which played before screenings of Pixar’s “Coco.”

Black Widow first debuted in 2010’s “Iron Man 2” and since then has appeared in both “Avengers” films as well as “Captain America: The Winter Soldier” and “Captain America: Civil War.” She’ll also be seen in this year’s “Avengers: Infinity War.” Interest in a standalone outing for the character has consistently been high, with a 2016 Fandago poll finding “Black Widow” the top pick for the Avenger fans most want to see in a solo film.

“Black Widow” boosters also note Johansson’s high box office draw outside the Marvel Cinematic Universe, with her 2014 action hit “Lucy” earning almost $500 million worldwide.

Marvel hasn’t set a date for a Black Widow film just yet. The studio has a full slate of projects dated through 2019, ending with “Avengers: Infinity War – Part 2,” which is also likely to feature Black Widow. But Marvel chief Kevin Feige said in 2016 that the studio and parent company Disney are “committing” to giving the character her own movie and possible franchise.

Talking to TheWrap in 2016, “Captain America: Civil War” screenwriters Stephen McFeely and Christopher Markus broke down the character’s arc in the MCU, saying that her “journey, over her various appearances, is one coming out of the shadows and into the light.”

Marvel declined to comment.

Schaeffer is repped by Verve and Writ Large.

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