Hot off strong reviews for her turn as WWE wrestler Paige in Fighting With My Family, Florence Pugh is in talks to join Scarlett Johansson in Marvel's standalone Black Widow movie, according to both Variety and THR.

Cate Shortland is set to direct from a script by Jac Schaeffer and Ned Benson, and as always, Kevin Feige will produce the superhero movie for Marvel.

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Image via Marvel Studios

Pugh was one of a handful of actresses who were tipped for the role in recent weeks, and while character details are being kept under wraps, I'm told it will be physically demanding, indicating that there will be several fight scenes. Pugh should be handle those after learning a few moves from Dwayne Johnson in Fighting With My Family.

Feige has clarified in recent interviews that Black Widow will not be rated-R, and it remains unclear whether the film will examine Natasha Romanoff's origins (the character made her MCU debut in 2010's Iron Man 2), or whether it will take place after Avengers: Endgame. Marvel, for its part, has yet to comment on the news.

Pugh has been on the rise ever since her breakout performance as the title character in Lady Macbeth, which led to her booking a lead role in Greta Gerwig's upcoming adaptation of Little Women. She recently starred opposite Chris Pine in David Mackenzie's Netflix epic Outlaw King and alongside Alexander Skarsgard and Michael Shannon in AMC's limited series The Little Drummer Girl, and she next stars opposite Jack Reynor in Ari Aster’s horror movie Midsommar, which is the director's creepy-looking follow-up to Hereditary. She has earned this opportunity and I look forward to learning more about her mysterious new character and where she fits into the MCU as a whole. Pugh is represented by WME and Curtis Brown Group.

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Photo by Robert Viglasky / Metro Goldwyn Mayer Pictures
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Image via Netflix