The Marvel Cinematic Universe is in an interesting place right now; the interim year between Spider-Man: From Home and Phase Four's opening is sure to be one filled with fan theories and rumors. The first movie to kickstart Phase Four is Cate Shortland's Black Widow. The highly anticipated solo flick will finally give Scarlett Johansson's Avenger the spotlight she deserves.
Black Widow will introduce a set of new characters from Natasha's past, with the cast filled out by David Harbour, Florence Pugh, and Rachel Weisz. And it turns out that Nat won't be the only Black Widow in the brigade. As Weisz recently revealed at San Diego Comic-Con:
There are quite a number. I'm a Black Widow and there's Scarlett and Florence. There's quite a bit of other characters you'll also meet that are Black Widows.
Well, this is interesting. While moviegoers have only ever known Scarlett Johansson's Natasha Romanoff as Black Widow, it turns out its a mantle that has been shared by multiple femme fatales before Nat joined The Avengers.
Rachel Weisz' comments IGN may take some hardcore Marvel fans by surprise, given now synonymous Scarlett Johansson has become with the Black Widow. But it turns out that the name has had more of a meaning than we realized. But given how mysterious the character's past is, it makes sense that even the most dedicated moviegoers would be in the dark regarding this plot twist.
Despite making her debut back in 2010's Iron Man 2, Natasha Romanoff has always been an MCU character shrouded in mystery. She's only made brief comments about her dark life of crime, before Hawkeye found her and recruited her for S.H.I.E.L.D. (presumably in Budapest). The most we've seen of a younger Nat has been through her vision in Avengers: Age of Ultron, which showed her terrifying upbringing.
Related: Taskmaster: Everything You Need To Know About The Black Widow Villain
And it turns out that Black Widow is a name shared by multiple agents, all of whom are presumably deadly in their own right. It'll be fascinating to see other femme fatales that share Natasha's training, and are presumably more experienced than the future Avenger. Can they all do her signature leg scissor move? Just curious.
This update about Black Widow is especially interesting given how the mantle of characters are being passed around in the MCU. Avengers: Endgame saw Sam Wilson pick up the shield as the next Captain America, while Thor named Valkyrie as the new King of Asgard. And the plot of Spider-Man: Far From was focused on who might take on the mantle of Iron Man in the wake of Tony Stark's sacrifice.
Overall, Black Widow is shaping up to be a very exciting installment in the MCU, one that will no doubt change the title character forever. Unfortunately, we have to wait another year before it arrives in theaters.
Black Widow will debut in May 1st, 2020. In the meantime, check out our 2019 release list to plan your next trip to the movies.
