Just because last year’s Avengers: Endgame saw Natasha Romanoff sacrificing her life for the greater good doesn’t mean her Marvel Cinematic Universe story is completely done. The forthcoming Black Widow movie is turning the clock back to a time when she didn’t have her Avengers allies to turn to in the face of danger, and we’ll also learn more about Natasha’s days as a Russian spy.
But if you think that Black Widow will go about this backstory exploration in a conventional way, Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige is here to tell you differently. Here’s what he recently said about Natasha Romanoff in the upcoming MCU movie:
She has such a rich backstory…We’ve hinted at it throughout all the other films. But we approach it in a completely unexpected way. She’s been up to a lot all along – in between when we see her in the other movies – some of which will be surprising to people.
We’ve known for a while that Black Widow is set between the events of Captain America: Civil War and Avengers: Infinity War, a time when Natasha Romanoff was a fugitive after aiding Steve Rogers and Bucky Barnes. Black Widow will chronicle the adventure Scarlett Johansson’s character got into with her old Russian allies before circling back with Steve and his anti-Sokovia Accords team to stop terrorists.
However, per Kevin Feige’s comments to Total Film, we’ll also be learning, if not outright seeing some of Natasha Romanoff’s activities between other Marvel movies too. Considering that her pre-Captain America: Civil War appearances include Iron Man 2, The Avengers, Captain America: The Winter Soldier and Avengers: Age of Ultron, that’s a lot of ground that could be covered.
Personally, I’d like to learn what Natasha was up to between Captain America: The Winter Soldier and Avengers: Age of Ultron, as following the collapse of S.H.I.E.L.D., she told Steve Rogers that she needed to figure out a new cover after blowing all her old ones. Perhaps she found herself embroiled in another espionage and deception-filled mission before regrouping with the Avengers.
In any case, for those of you who’ve wanted to learn more about Natasha Romanoff, Black Widow will have you covered and then some. Beyond that, the main story will see the eponymous protagonist going up against Taskmaster, who is capable of mimicking any opponent’s fighting style and has taken control of the Red Room, the program that trained Natasha to be an assassin.
Feel free to catch up to speed on what else Black Widow has in store by watching the trailer.
While we don’t know yet who’s playing Taskmaster, Black Widow’s cast does include Florence Pugh as Yelena Belova, David Harbour as Alexei Shostakov (a.k.a. Red Guardian), Rachel Weisz as Melina Vostokoff, O.T. Fagbenle as Rick Mason, Ray Winstone as Dreykov and William Hurt as Thaddeus Ross. Cate Shortland directed the feature, and Eric Pearson wrote the script based off a story by Jac Schaeffer and Ned Benson.
Black Widow is now hitting theaters on November 6, the date that previously belonged to The Eternals. Stay tuned to CinemaBlend for continuing coverage, and learn what other MCU movies are on the way with our detailed guide.
