Florence Pugh is reportedly in talks to join the standalone ‘Black Widow’ movie.
The ‘Little Women’ actress is the latest name attached to the Marvel film after Emma Watson was recently rumoured for an unknown part.
According to Variety, the 23-year-old British star impressed Marvel Studios with her performance as Saraya Knight in comedy-drama ‘Fighting With My Family’.
While it’s not yet known who she will portray, It’s reported that Florence will take the second lead.
It’s also not clear whether Emma and Florence are in contention for the same character or separate roles.
The blockbuster focuses on Scarlett Johansson as she reprises her role as SHIELD spy Natasha Romanoff, aka Black Widow.
Although few details about the movie have been released, ‘Harry Potter’ actress Emma’s potential part was recently described as a "kick-ass female [James] Bond", and Marvel is said to be seeking an actress able to cope with a physically demanding role who also "feels similar" to 34-year-old Scarlett.
Scarlett – who has starred as Black Widow in the Marvel Cinematic Universe since 2010 when she made her debut in ‘Iron Man 2’ – is set to earn $15 million for the film and has reportedly been handed the same deal that was previously given to Chris Evans and Chris Hemsworth for appearing in ‘Captain America: Civil War’ and ‘Thor: Ragnarok’, respectively.
Scarlett first appeared as the Black Widow in ‘Iron Man 2’, which also starred Robert Downey Jr and Gwyneth Paltrow.
The character has since gained significant popularity among fans and rumours about a standalone movie have been swirling for years.
Scarlett previously admitted she hopes the ‘Black Widow’ film will be a "groundbreaking" story in the MCU.
She explained: "The only way to do it would be if it were something that we’ve never seen before that was really groundbreaking and incredibly bad ass. I think if anyone could make that happen my boss Kevin Feige could. He’s a visionary."
Scarlett explained that because of her character’s traumatic past, there’s plenty of scope to develop a compelling storyline.
She said: "I think it could be something really special.
"There’s a lot of room there. The character has a tortured past, she’s had to make a lot of difficult decisions. She has a lot of trauma. She’s got issues. There’s room to work them all out."