Olivia Wilde Directing Untitled Female-Led Marvel Movie for Sony

Deadline reports that Olivia Wilde has been hired to direct an upcoming Marvel movie for Sony Pictures centering around a female main character.

This film will be an addition to the Sony Universe of Marvel Characters (SUMC), the cinematic universe which currently encompasses 2018’s “Venom” and next year’s “Morbius” and “Venom: Let There Be Carnage.”

Wilde will not only direct the project but is also tasked with writing the script along with her frequent writing collaborator Katie Silberman, with whom Wilde teamed up to write “Booksmart” in 2019 which Wilde directed. Wilde and Silberman’s script will be based on a previous draft written by Gary Spinelli.  As with all other SUMC installments, Amy Pascal will be an executive producer along with Rachel O’Connor.

While nothing has been confirmed about the plot or subject matter of the film, it is very likely that this could be the live-action “Spider-Woman” movie that has been rumored in recent years from Sony.

This film will mark the second female-centric installment for the SUMC after it was announced earlier this year that S.J. Clarkson would be directing a “Madame Web” solo movie. While originally Sony had also announced a Silver Sable/Black Cat team-up film entitled “Silver & Black,” the studio has since announced it will be developing the two characters in their own separate solo movies in the SUMC instead.

This announcement further showcases an obvious trend in the film industry hiring more and more diverse voices for their writers and directors, especially female directors as we saw with the announcement of Nia DaCosta directing “Captain Marvel 2” earlier this month.

In the meantime, Wilde is directing a psychological thriller for New Line Cinema entitled “Don’t Worry Darling” about a 1950s housewife whose perception of the world around her crumbles leading to disgruntling truths starring Florence Pugh, Chris Pine, Shia LaBeouf and Dakota Johnson, which will film this fall.

Olivia Wilde’s female-led SUMC film is expected to film in 2021 and release in either 2022 or 2023.