Editors - Matthew Schmidt and Leigh Folsom Boyd

Editors, Matthew Schmidt and Leigh Folsom Boyd are no strangers to the Marvel Universe, yet Black Widow represents the first time they've ever worked together on a project. It's also the first Marvel film for indie director, Cate Shortland.

Black Widow is the 24th film in the MCU, but the first in the franchise's "Phase Four". Eagerly awaited since it was announced after Avengers: End Game, the film has suffered multiple delays in its release due to the pandemic. Taking place after the events of Captain America: Civil War, Black Widow delivers the long overdue backstory and greater depth of focus on the character of Natasha Romanoff (aka Black Widow).

MATTHEW SCHMIDT

Matthew's career with Marvel dates back to The Avengers. Back then he was an assistant on that film as well as first assistant on Iron Man 3. Matt then made the jump to editor on Captain America: The Winter Soldier and would go on to co-edit the Marvel films, Avengers: Age of Ultron, Captain America: Civil War, Avengers: Infinity War, Avengers: End Game and Black Widow.

LEIGH FOLSOM BOYD

Even before joining the Marvel Cinematic Universe to co-edit Ant Man and Spiderman: Far From Home, editor Leigh Folsom Boyd had plenty experience cutting blockbuster action movies. Her impressive resume includes films like Fast & Furious, Fast Five, Fast & Furious 6, Furious 7, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales and Total Recall (2012).

Editing Black Widow

In our discussion with the Black Widow editing team of Matthew Schmidt and Leigh Folsom Boyd, we talk about:

• Taking advantage of some extra "lockdown" related time to refine the film
• Making the 24th film in a series understandable to audiences new to the MCU
• Developing immersive soundscapes
• The iterations of an action scene
• Negotiating the workload between two editors

The Credits

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