Olivia Wilde Reportedly Directing Secret Marvel Film for Sony -- Rumored to Be Spider-Woman

Sony continues to move ahead with their Spider-Man universe of films, even as Spidey himself is hanging out in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Next up is their first female-centric film, reportedly with Olivia Wilde on board to direct.

Officially untitled and with neither Sony nor Marvel talking about it, sources have nevertheless told several outlets, including Deadline, that Wilde is looking to follow up her directorial debut by reuniting with one of that film's screenwriters.

Wilde earned critical acclaim for "Booksmart" in 2019, with its star earning a Best Actress nomination at the Golden Globes and Wilde herself winning several awards for her directing, including the Hollywood Critics Association Award.

Katie Silberman worked with three other screenwriters on "Booksmart," but she is reportedly going solo in bringing to the screen one of Marvel's most famous heroines. Amy Pascal will produce, with Rachel O'Connor executive producing.

Wilde meanwhile, is adding to an already rather full directorial slate after "Booksmart" garnered so much attention. She is set to direct thriller "Don't Worry Darling" this fall -- with a small role -- as well as gymnast Kerry Strugg's story in "Perfect" and a holiday film.

There was no mention of whether or not Wilde would be appearing in the film as an actress. It seems unlikely she'd want to direct herself as the star, though she could easily step into the shoes of at least one of the women who's worn the title of Spider-Woman, including Spidey's oft-times love interest Mary Jane Watson.

Perhaps the most famous is Jessica Drew, who was the first to carry the title. Appearing in the 1970s, she originally got her powers when her father injected her with an experimental spider serum to save her from uranium poisoning, though that later changed to her mother getting hit in the stomach with a DNA-strewn laser beam while pregnant -- ah, comics. Embrace the madness!

From there, her power set is largely similar to Spider-Man's with a few additions like her bio-electric "venom blasts" and is trained in combat and espionage through work with both HYDRA and SHIELD. In other words, she's a total badass.

But she's also not the only woman to have worn that name -- and one has already appeared in a recent hit Sony film. The character popularly known as "Spider-Gwen" is actually the Spider-Woman of a parallel Earth where it was Gwen Stacy who got bit by a radioactive spider instead of Peter Parker.

This version was also one of the more popular characters who starred in "Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse," so it's certainly possible the studio is considering a spinoff (while fans continue waiting for a sequel announcement). Heilee Steinfeld voiced the character for the animated film and could certainly be tapped to reprise her performance, either animated again or in live-action.

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