Shuvrajit Das Biswas
The upcoming ‘Black Widow’ movie from Marvel Studios, directed by Cate Shortland, is allegedly eyeing Camila Mendes, the ‘Riverdale‘ star, for a small role in a supporting capacity, Comicbook reported. While claims have already been made that the movie is very early in the process, Disney-owned Marvel is reportedly looking for actresses of color aged between 15 and 25.
For those unaware, Mendes plays the role of Veronica Lodge in ‘Riverdale’ which is the CW show based on the Archie comics. She used to be the love interest of Archie Andrews, the protagonist played by KJ Apa. Mendes has wowed audiences with a nuanced performance that speaks to her ethnicity and gender, playing to the strengths of both these aspects.
They are compiling a list of actresses for this unidentified role and Mendes apparently is at the top. Although the initial role is small, the studio wants a young but accomplished actress on board which leads us to believe that this role could potentially grow more important as the franchise grows and leads to future films. Notably, the other actresses being considered for the role includes Storm Reid from ‘A Wrinkle In Time’, Hannah Quinlivan from ‘Skyscraper’ and Isabela Moner from ‘Dora the Explorer’. The role for which these actresses are being considered was added as a rewrite to the script by Ned Benson, who is famous for ‘The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby’. The script was initially penned by Jac Schaeffer.
Among other positions in the ‘Black Widow’ film, Andre Holland, of ‘Moonlight‘ is being considered to play the role of the antagonist. While not much is known about the part he is likely to play, we do know that the role has been described as a ‘tough, dangerous and mysterious villain’ and the filmmakers are looking for a Black British or African actor between the ages of 30 to 45 to fill this position. The even bigger news of casting comes from reports that Emma Watson, famous for playing Hermione Granger in the ‘Harry Potter‘ series, is being considered to play a second female lead. While this character’s description remains unknown, she will be supporting Scarlett Johansson, who will play Natasha Romanoff, better known as the titular Black Widow.
Fans might be interested to know the alleged synopsis of the film, which states, “At birth the Black Widow (aka Natasha Romanova) is given to the KGB, which grooms her to become its ultimate operative. When the U.S.S.R. breaks up, the government tries to kill her as the action movies to present-day New York, where she is a freelance operative. The standalone film will find Romanoff living in the United States 15 years after the fall of the Soviet Union. At birth the Black Widow (aka Natasha Romanova) is given to the KGB, which grooms her to become its ultimate operative. When the U.S.S.R. breaks up, the government tries to kill her as the action movies to present-day New York, where she is a freelance operative. The standalone film will find Romanoff living in the United States 15 years after the fall of the Soviet Union.” This places the character of Black Widow in 2006, which according to the MCU timeline is two years before the launch of the ‘Iron Man’ movies and six years before she joined the Avengers. Notably, Black Widow first appeared in the MCU in ‘Iron Man 2’ where she started working undercover as a secretary for Tony Stark, to monitor how he was as Iron Man. She was already working for Nick Fury and the SHIELD at this point of time. ‘Black Widow’ is expected to come out in 2020 although no release date has been announced yet.
