How Many Black Widows Are There in the 'Black Widow' Standalone MCU Film?
Apparently Scarlett won't be the only Widow on this mission.
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After several appearances in the MCU, the first lady of the Avengers, and arguably the foundation of the superhero team is finally getting her own solo film. This, some would debate, is long overdue and I am one to agree with them. Scarlett Johansson is one of the biggest stars on the planet and portrays a character with no powers that can not only run with the best, but can take them down if need be. The Black Widow character has been a force to be reckoned with in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, playing critical roles in taking down Loki, Ultron, and even the Mad Titan Thanos. And when her untimely demise came in efforts to obtain the Soul Stone from the Red Skull, it was a hard loss to take for most fans out there. But as we all watched her fall, in the back of our minds we knew or at least hoped that she would be getting one last ride in the form of some prequel endeavor. And now some more light has been shed on the top-secret origin story of one of Marvel’s most badass characters.
According to this years panel at Comic-Con, Marvel head honcho Kevin Feige confirmed that the highly anticipated Romanoff film would be the first phase four film to release. This espionage action-packed thrill ride will arrive in theaters at the beginning of May next year. While most of the film’s plot has remained under wraps, there are a few things we do know. The cast, the director, and shooting locations have all been revealed, but a new piece of information has really got people excited about what’s going down in the Widow solo affair. According to actress Rachel Weiss, who is part of the star-studded cast unveiled that there will not just be one Black Widow. But in fact, there will be several individuals taking on that moniker. When Weiss recently spoke with IGN she dropped the bomb about the multiple Widows showing up in the film:
“There are quite a number… I’m a Black Widow and there’s Scarlett [Johansson] and Florence [Pugh]. There’s quite a bit of other characters you’ll also meet that are Black Widows.”So we know that Scarlett Johansson will be back as the titular character in the Black Widow movie, but she’s not going to be the only one to rock that codename. It sounds like there are and have been in the past been multiple agents going by the designation Black Widow. According to Weisz, she and fellow co-star Florence Pugh will also be Black Widows. This confirms that there is more than one out there and gives us a bit more insight into the classified narrative. Before this revelation, very little was known about the plot. Most fans rightfully assumed that it would be a prequel and we have confirmation that the story is set after Captain America: Civil War. But there’s also a good chance the film will go back even further in time. I know myself and a lot of fans would love to see what really went down in Budapest, considering her and Clint remember it very differently. And it is hard to imagine not looking more into the early days of Natasha's training to become the Black Widow, which was briefly showcased in Avengers: Age of Ultron.
In the comics, Natasha's history is rich with espionage and full of the things spy fans absolutely love. Most of her backstory revolves around the cold war between the USA and Russia, which makes sense given the fact that she was one of Russia's best operatives before being convinced to take her talents to S.H.I.E.L.D. Before all that, she was a part of the secret Black Widow Ops Program. So in a nutshell, Romanoff is the result of a Cold War Training program designed to train the deadliest female spy in the world. This program is similar to what was seen in Jennifer Lawrence's unrelated film, Red Sparrow. Natasha’s beginnings took place at the aptly named Red Room facility, something that has been hinted at in Agent Carter and the second Avengers film.
Ironically, it was created in the comics, due to the success of their previous sleeper agent and assassin the Winter Soldier. Some assumed Bucky might be a key figure in the film, possibly being reactivated to become a villain, but there is evidence to debunk that theory. Concept art and leaked set photos have lead people to believe that the villain Taskmaster, who has a photographic memory when it comes to his opponents moves, making him ridiculously formidable, will be one of the prequel's villains, although the actor portraying the evildoer is still unknown. While we are unsure about what the film will entail, there is certainly an ample amount of source material to take from to make this one of the best MCU movies ever made.
Besides the epic story this spy extravaganza could tell, it will be the first MCU film to focus on an individual that isn’t an enhanced hero. The Marvel Cinematic Universe has showcased some genuinely iconic characters from Norse gods to talking trees; it will be fascinating to see how they tackle the spy genre and to see how espionage works in a world with superheroes. Helping bring this all together is Australian director Cate Shortland who has an impressive list of credits preceding her debut in the MCU. She has a difficult task in front of her, but thankfully, she has some reliable individuals there to help complete this objective. The script is being penned by Ned Benson, who previously directed The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby, and Jac Schaeffer, screenwriter on Captain Marvel as well as the pilot episode of the Disney+ series WandaVision. Along with the known Black Widows Johansson, Weiss, and Pugh, rounding out this star-studded affair will be David Harbour, O-T Fagbenle, and Ray Winstone. So whatever Natasha’s movie ends up being about and however many agents take on the designation, Marvel has put together one solid team to complete this mission successfully.
The Black Widow movie will kick off phase four and release on May 1, 2020.
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D.J. Rivera
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