The Marvel Cinematic Universe’s Phase 4 begins in a few months with the release of Black Widow. A decade after Natasha Romanoff was introduced to this franchise, Scarlett Johansson’s character is finally getting to shine in her own movie, and thanks to the advertising haven that is the Super Bowl, a new Black Widow trailer has dropped giving us more insight about what’s in store for the heroine. Take a look!
As those of you who keep track of the MCU’s goings on, Natasha Romanoff died during Avengers: Endgame, so Black Widow is winding the clock back to between the events of Captain America: Civil War and Avengers: Infinity War for our reunion with her. While we’re used to seeing Natasha with Earth’s Mightiest Heroes, she admits in this preview that they weren’t her first family, and now we get to meet the people who were in Natasha’s life before she joined S.H.I.E.L.D. and became a superhero.
These include Florence Pugh’s Yelena Belova and Rachel Weisz’s Melina Vostokoff, both of whom share the Black Widow moniker, as well as David Harbour’s Alexei Shostakov, a.k.a. Red Guardian, the Russian counterpart to Captain America. You can see all of the Black Widow family together in the four character posters below.
Thus far, the specific threat that Black Widow and her family will have to face is still shrouded in secrecy. But as is the case with every Marvel movie, we can expect plenty of action and explosives, and one villain who is confirmed to give the gang trouble is the enigmatic Taskmaster.
There’s still no word on who’s bringing this villain to life in Black Widow, but like his comic book counterpart, he appears to have photographic reflexes, i.e. the ability to perfectly replicate any physical movement he sees. That makes him one of the MCU’s most formidable fighters, and just like Red Guardian, he also shares some similarities with Captain America from that shield he’s holding. Whether the MCU’s Taskmaster is also Tony Masters under that mask or someone different remains to be seen.
We also get a brief look at the Red Room, where the Black Widows went through intense training. By this point in the MCU timeline, it’s presumed that the Black Widow program has been long gone, but outside of potential flashbacks looking at Natasha Romanoff there in her younger years, perhaps other Black Widows will surface during the movie’s main narrative, only they won’t be helping our primary protagonist.
The Black Widow cast also includes William Hurt reprising Thunderbolt Ross and O.T. Fagbenle as an old S.H.I.E.L.D. associate of Natasha’s named Rick Mason, as well as Ray Winstone and Olivier Richters cast in undisclosed roles. It’s also been rumored that we’ll be treated to a Tony Stark appearance via unused footage from Captain America: Civil War, but that hasn’t been confirmed yet. Cate Shortland directed the feature and Eric Pearson wrote the script based off a story by Jac Schaeffer and Ned Benson.
Black Widow opens in theaters on May 1, so keep checking back with CinemaBlend for more coverage. For now, find out what other Marvel movies are coming out in Phase 4 and beyond with our comprehensive guide, or load up our 2020 release schedule to plan your silver screen visits this year.
