'Black Widow' Director Cate Shortland Reveals What Marvel Fans Would Be Surprised to Learn

With Black Widow opening in theaters and available on Disney via Premiere Access this Friday, I recently spoke with director Cate Shortland about making the latest Marvel movie. During the wide-ranging interview, Shortland revealed what Marvel fans would be surprised to learn about the making of Black Widow, why the PG-13 rating makes sense for the storyline, how the first cut compared to the finished film, how she worked with 2nd unit director Darrin Prescott (who has previously worked on Captain America: Civil War, Black Panther, Drive, Deadpool 2, and the John Wick movies) on the action, the way she balanced the seriousness with moments of levity, what she did in pre-production to help her teams understand what she was trying to do, and more. As you’ve seen in the numerous trailers and clips, Black Widow takes place right after the events of Captain America: Civil War and features Natasha Romanoff (Scarlett Johansson) having to confront her past and the choices that led her to becoming an Avenger.