Cate Shortland to direct 'Black Widow' starring Scarlett Johansson

July 13 (UPI) -- Filmmaker Cate Shortland has been selected to direct a Black Widow standalone film for Marvel starring Scarlett Johansson.

Shortland, best known for helming World War II drama Lore, was chosen after the studio met with over 49 other female directors, Deadline reported.

Development on a Black Widow film began in January with Jan Schaffer being hired to pen the script. Schaffer recently wrote the script for the upcoming Dirty Rotten Scoundrels remake The Hustle, starring Anne Hathaway and Rebel Wilson.

The film will be reportedly set before the events of the first Avengers film, noted The Hollywood Reporter.

Johansson has been portraying Black Widow, a highly-trained spy who hails from Russia, since 2010, when she first appeared as the character in Iron Man 2. The actress has reprised the role in a number of Marvel films such as the Avengers series including Infinity War and two Captain America films.

Despite Black Widow's long tenure on-screen, Marvel's first film led by a female superhero will be Captain Marvel, starring Brie Larson, which is due in theaters on March 6, 2019.