‘Black Widow’ Director Explains “Puzzling” Decision To Make The Superhero Film A Family Drama

When you watch the trailer for “Black Widow,” it sure does look like your run-of-the-mill Marvel Studios production. There are jokes. There is a lot of action. There are famous people in silly costumes. It’s all very familiar. But according to a new interview with TotalFilm (via GamesRadar), “Black Widow” isn’t your typical superhero film. In fact, it’s more akin to a family drama. That is, if your family is full of killer spies and superheroes.

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Cate Shortland spoke with the outlet about the decision to make “Black Widow” a family drama. Yes, that’s right, Marvel Studios is trying to position the upcoming superhero blockbuster as the same type of feature as 2018’s “Wildlife.” Of course, that’s a bit silly, but Shortland said that the initial pitch from Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige was that “Black Widow” should be a family drama first and a superhero film second.

“[That decision] was puzzling to me,” Shortland said. “And then I realized, by the end, that Kevin and I had similar visions. What I really wanted to do was to expose the character and get under her skin. The family created the dynamic with which that would happen. We see a different side of the character, because she’s in scenes with people that know her from when she was a child. She’s not a superhero in those scenes; she’s a daughter or a sister.”

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While it’s unclear when we might actually see “Black Widow” in theaters (all signs point to it getting delayed to 2021), it wouldn’t be much of a hot take to say that the superhero film will probably have a ton more explosions and Avengers references than Paul Dano’s recent directorial debut. So, Marvel Studios is playing fast and loose with genre descriptors, but it does also show that Shortland and Feige are cooking up something a little different with “Black Widow.”

For now… “Black Widow” is scheduled to arrive on November 6. Even though reports say otherwise. You can see new pictures from the film below:

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