Exclusive: Director Cate Shortland on mixing drama and comedy on Black Widow

Currently playing simultaneously in theaters and on Disney+ with Premier Access* in most Disney+ markets is Marvel Studios’ long-awaited action-packed spy thriller “Black Widow,” starring Scarlett Johansson. Directed by Cate Shortland (Lore) from a script written by Jac Schaeffer (The Hustle), the film showcases Natasha Romanoff’s struggle to face her past and deal with unfinished business.

Natasha Romanoff aka Black Widow confronts the darker parts of her ledger when a dangerous conspiracy with ties to her past arises. Pursued by a force that will stop at nothing to bring her down, Natasha must deal with her history as a spy and the broken relationships left in her wake long before she became an Avenger. With the character having met her demise in Avengers: Endgame, the plot for the film is set between the events of Captain America: Civil War and Avengers: Infinity War.

Scarlett Johansson reprises her role as Natasha/Black Widow, the film also features a star-studded ensemble cast including Golden Globe nominee David Harbour (Stranger Things, Hellboy) as Alexei aka The Red Guardian, Florence Pugh (Fighting with My Family, Midsommar) as Yelena Belova, Academy Award-winning actress Rachel Weisz (The Favourite, My Cousin Rachel) as Melina, Ray Winstone (The Departed) as Dreykov, head of The Red Rom, and O-T Fagbenle (The Handmaid’s Tale) as Mason.

BlackFilmandTV.com’s Wilson Morales spoke with Shortland on mixing comedy and drama in the film. Shortland’s previous films were Somersault, Lore and Berlin Syndrome.