One is an Oscar winner fresh off promoting an Oscar-winning film, the other is a star thanks to Stranger Things and soon to be well-versed in comicbook lore. But both Rachel Weisz and David Harbour are in talks to join Scarlett Johansson in Marvel's Black Widow.
Variety brings word that Weisz is closing in on a deal to co-star in the film, which will also feature Florence Pugh. This being Marvel, we naturally don't know what role she'll be playing, nor are there details as to whether it'll dig into Natasha Romanoff's past or be set in the MCU after Avengers: Endgame.
The Hollywood Reporter, which scooped Harbour's entering talks to join the cast, only has the detail that it'll be an internationally set story focusing on Johansson's character. Cate Shortland is directing, with Jac Shaeffer on script duty.
Filming on this one is now scheduled to start in London this coming June and marks a somewhat belated push by Marvel to give female characters more of the spotlight. It's already paying off, though, as Captain Marvel has just crossed the $1 billion mark at the worldwide box office after a few weeks on release, becoming the seventh MCU entry to do so. It also continues a renewed look at established names, following on from Angelina Jolie circling The Eternals.
As for Weisz, she was last seen in The Favourite and will make Black Widow as her next project. Harbour has Hellboy due 11 April, followed by the return of Stranger Things to Netflix on 4 July and then appears with Marvel stalwart Chris Hemsworth in Dhaka, which should be out later this year.
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