‘Black Widow’ Shortlist Now Includes Directors Amma Asante And Maggie Betts

And so the list of directors Marvel is courting for their Black Widow movie has grown by two, making it three women with the best shot at landing the gig. Yesterday we learned Berlin Syndrome director Cate Shortland was a top choice, and now Deadline adds Amma Asante and Maggie Betts.

Asante is best known for directing historical romances A United Kingdom (which was one of my favorite 2016 films) and Belle. Betts is a lesser known filmmaker, having made a splash in 2010 with the documentary, The Carrier. She was at Sundance last year for the religious drama Novitiate, which earned her a great deal of accolades. Both are said to have met with Marvel’s Kevin Feige and star Scarlett Johansson to make their pitches for telling the Russian spy’s first solo outing.

An interesting thing to note about all three directors is their familiarity with period pieces. Could that be a sign Black Widow will be set in the past?