'Spider-Woman' Movie Coming From Sony And 'Booksmart' Director Olivia Wilde

Olivia Wilde has been tapped to spin a new superhero tale for Sony's universe of Marvel characters. Wilde is set to direct a female-led Marvel movie for Sony, which will reportedly be centered on Spider-Woman. This new project will be the latest film in Sony's Spider-Man spin-off universe including Venom and Morbius.

Deadline reports that Olivia Wilde has closed a deal with Sony to direct and develop a "secret" Marvel movie revolving around a female superhero. The film will reportedly center on Spider-Woman, though nothing is confirmed. The Olivia Wilde Sony Marvel movie will be penned by Wilde's Booksmart collaborator Katie Silberman, with Amy Pascal producing. Rachel O'Connor will executive produce. Sony, of course, had no comment.

The project is separate from Sony's all-female Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse spin-off, though it will likely include new takes on the same characters. Spider-Woman as a character offers a wide range of possibilities, as the title has been held by multiple characters including Gwen Stacy, Mary Jane Watson and Jessica Drew. Jessica Drew is the most popular iteration of this character, becoming the first to don the costume in the late 1970s, with a revamp in the 2000s that turned her into one of Marvel's most popular Spider characters. However, Wilde is working on her own "revamp" of the character, and it's unknown what direction she'll take for the film. Considering Wilde's talent for creating nuanced female relationships and ornery, strong-willed women, it's likely she'll lean into later characterizations of Jessica Drew, who shed her pin-up reputation to be a confident, capable leader in 2005's The New Avengers. Perhaps Wilde will even toss a few other popular female Spider characters in there, like Silk or Spider-Gwen.

Coming off her widely acclaimed directorial debut Booksmart, Wilde has become one of the most in-demand female directors in Hollywood. As a result, Wilde's upcoming slate is filling up pretty quickly, and her next project is the psychological thriller Don't Worry Darling set to star Florence Pugh, Chris Pine, Shia LaBeouf, and Dakota Johnson. But Deadline reports that Wilde couldn't pass up the chance at launching her own female superhero movie, and signed onto the project.

This (probably) Spider-Woman movie is not the only female-led Marvel film that Sony is developing. The studio tapped S.J. Clarkson to direct a Madame Webb movie and is also developing Black Cat and Silver Sable movies to further expand it's Spider universe (albeit without Spider-Man, who is still hanging out at Marvel).