Olivia Wilde is joining the Marvel Cinematic Universe. According to Deadline, Wilde has signed on to direct and develop a brand-new film for Sony’s MCU that will revolve around a female character within the universe. And if we’re any good at decoding messages, it looks like Wilde will take on the story of Spider-Woman.
Booksmart‘s Wilde will take the helm of the secret Marvel movie, and Deadline reports that Katie Silberman (who also worked on Booksmart) will write the script. Amy Pascal (who was behind Spider-Man: Into the Spiderverse and Little Women) will produce, and Rachel O’Connor (Spider-Man: Homecoming and Little Women) will serve as executive producer.
Not only does this team have tons of Spider-Man experience, it’s all about women building up other women. And if you weren’t already convinced this “secret” project was something to do with Spider-Woman, check out Wilde’s own reaction to the news:
When the news was announced yesterday, August 19th, Wilde retweeted the Deadline post and only added one thing: a spider emoji.
If theories are correct and Wilde is taking on Spider-Woman, she’d be bringing attention back to a character that has existed in varying forms within the MCU for decades. The first rendition of Spider-Woman was Jessica Drew in the 1970s, and, later, she morphed into Gwen Stacy and Mary Jane Watson, depending on which version of the comics you follow.
It’s unclear if Wilde will pick up on one of these existing Spider-Woman storylines or create her own.
This project joins the ranks of other MCU upcoming films centered around a more diverse slate of lead characters. Black Cat, Silver Sable, and Madame Web are all slated to get action flicks in the coming years.
Now, to figure out the perfect Spider-Woman casting choice to Tom Holland’s/Shameik Moore’s Spider-Man (Men?). So many good choices, so little time.
