Coralie Fargeat Turned Down Marvel’s Black Widow for Oscar-Nominated The Substance

LOS ANGELES, Calif. — French filmmaker Coralie Fargeat, director of the Oscar-nominated body horror film *The Substance*, revealed she turned down an opportunity to direct Marvel‘s *Black Widow* to focus on her passion project. The decision has paid off, with *The Substance* earning five Academy Award nominations, including Best Picture and Best Director.

Fargeat, known for her 2017 breakout film *Revenge*, was approached by Marvel Studios to helm the 2021 Scarlett Johansson-led *Black Widow*. However, she declined the lucrative offer to maintain creative control over *The Substance*, a film she wrote on spec while financially struggling. “I turned down lucrative offers, and even cut short preliminary talks with Marvel, which had approached her to direct 2021’s *Black Widow*,” a source told Variety.

*The Substance*, starring Demi Moore and Margaret Qualley, follows an aging actress who takes a black market drug to create a younger version of herself, only to face horrifying consequences. The film, which grossed $76 million worldwide, has already won a Golden Globe and is now available for streaming on Mubi.

Fargeat faced significant challenges during production, including pressure to tone down the film’s graphic content. “I held on so tightly during the making of the film and the difficult postproduction phase, when everyone wanted me to make it less violent, less excessive, less gory, less frontal,” Fargeat told Variety. “I knew that I had written this film to be more than — or at least at the same level as — what I’m denouncing in the film.”

Meanwhile, Marvel’s *Black Widow* was ultimately directed by Cate Shortland and starred Scarlett Johansson, Florence Pugh, and Rachel Weisz. The film, set during the events of *Captain America: Civil War*, was released in 2021 and received mixed reviews.

Fargeat’s dedication to *The Substance* has solidified her reputation as a bold and visionary filmmaker. The movie is now available on DVD, Blu-ray, and 4K Ultra HD, with its Oscar fate to be decided at the Academy Awards ceremony in March.