The 36-year-old actress is set to direct and co-write an upcoming female-centric Marvel film for Sony with Katie Silberman, a source confirms to PEOPLE. It’s hoped that the film will concentrate on Spider-Woman. The news was first published on Deadline.
Spider-Woman ‘s protagonist has been the alter ego with quite a few comic book characters including Gwen Stacy, Mary Jane Watson, and Jessica Drew, the first character to wear the costume in the 1970s.
This is the latest major female superhero movie to land a female director, following the hiring of Nia DaCosta as Captain Marvel 2 director. The two directors follow in the footsteps of Anna Boden, who co-directed Captain Marvel with Ryan Fleck in 2019; Cate Shortland, who helmed Black Widow; and Chloé Zhao, director of The Eternals.
Having directed several music videos for the Red Hot Chili Peppers and Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros, Olivia made her feature film directorial debut last year with Booksmart. Wilde has also collaborated on a movie with Shia LaBeouf, Florence Pugh, Dakota Johnson, and Chris Pine entitled Don’t Worry, Darling.
Wilde, who has two children with actor Jason Sudeikis, told PEOPLE in May 2019 that women-especially those who are mothers- “are incredible multitasking superheroes.”
“I know how to communicate to several different people at the same time, to nurture people, to not allow myself to get overwhelmed,” she said talking about her personality. “And to never show fear. That is the one rule with toddlers. Never show fear. They will smell it.”
She added, “People have assumed that if you are a mother then you won’t be as reliable as a director, and that is crazy. I feel honestly that the most qualified people to direct are mothers!”