Time can be a bit of flat circle when you’re starring in a handful of Marvel films for over a decade, but thankfully things have come back around for Scarlett Johansson. After “Avengers: Endgame” and “Black Widow,” she went on to be featured in a number Wes Anderson films, including the upcoming “The Phoenician Scheme,” as well as Noah Baumbach’s “Marriage Story,” and has now directed her feature debut “Eleanor the Great.” The dark dramedy had its world premiere in Un Certain Regard at Cannes 2025 and marks an important milestone in Johansson’s career. In a recent interview with The New York Times, Johansson explained how she always thought she’d be a director, but got lost in acting.
“When I was much younger, I thought I would end up doing that eventually,” Johansson said of directing. “In my early 20s, I became focused on understanding my job as an actor better. I was creatively engaged with the directors I was working with, taking on different roles that were challenging, and I veered off that path.”
Thankfully, as Johansson stepped away from the MCU and dedicated more time to her production company These Pictures, she came across a script for “Eleanor the Great” that she felt connected to immediately. The script came from Pinky Promise Films, which recently produced “The Last Showgirl.” The company was co-founded by Jessamine Burgum, who recently spoke to IndieWire’s Future of Filmmaking for “What No One Tells You.” Johansson “wasn’t looking for something to direct,” but felt she knew the right way to bring “Eleanor the Great” to life.
“The timing was right when the script found me. It felt like an extension of the work that I’ve been doing as opposed to this big unknown,” Johansson said. “And June was ready to make the film. She had energy and was committed to doing it.”
Now that she’s gotten a taste for it though, Johansson could definitely see herself helming more projects.
“It felt very fulfilling. We had such an amazing shooting experience,” she said. “The feeling on set was so familial and creative and positive. It was really, really joyful. You don’t always have a joyful experience on every movie that you make, but as I’ve gotten older, I have a lesser tolerance for the unpleasant experience.”
In our review out of Cannes, IndieWire’s Kate Erbland said, “Written by Tory Kamen, ‘Eleanor the Great’ hinges on the early charm of its relatively feel-good premise — inter-age friendship, what a concept! — before piling on the ever-darker twists and turns. That’s not to say the film isn’t funny or sweet, but that there is something much more profound and uncomfortable at its heart, and one that poses a tricky challenge for first-time filmmakers Johansson and Kamen.”
“Eleanor the Great” will be released later this year from Tristar and Sony Pictures Classics.
