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After a year of delays, Phase Four of the Marvel Cinematic Universe is currently in full swing. Cate Shortland’s Black Widow was the first movie to theaters, introducing a slew of new characters including David Harbour’s Red Guardian. And the Stranger Things star recently recalled being “beat up” filming one big action sequence.
David Harbour has had a long career as an actor, but became a household name thanks to his acclaimed work on Stranger Things. He made a strong Marvel debut as Red Guardian, with new interviews and deleted scenes surfacing as Black Widow is available for home purchase. It turns out that filming Alexei’s prison battle resulted in Harbour getting roughed by the various extras. As he put it,
I got so beat up and busted up during that fight. There were 400 extras of all shapes and sizes, all super professional. I mean we would get together and shoot sequences where they were doing really complicated things. These guys were amazing.
Actors: sometimes they’re not like us. Because single-handedly taking on a prison full of extras is an experience that few can say they’ve had. David Harbour is one of them, and that struggle definitely paid off in Black Widow’s theatrical cut. And it looks like that’s just the beginning of his tenure as Red Guardian.
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While Marvel movies are known for thrilling action, actually putting the sequences together is quite different from what we see on the big screen. Black Widow was no exception, and David Harbour’s character was especially heightened as he was the only one with actual superpowers. Although taking on such wild sequences definitely takes its toll.
David Harbour’s quote from the Special Features of Black Widow highlights the difficulty of working on a MCU blockbuster. Still, the Stranger Things icon took the time to praise the hundreds of extras who were battling with him on the big screen. Rather than being a prison full of CGI renderings of prisoners, the ensemble Cate Shortland and company created gave it an extra sense of realism.
While Black Widow marked Scarlett Johansson’s final appearance in the MCU, the rest of Natasha’s chosen family could seemingly appear again. While Florence Pugh’s Yelena quickly became a fan favorite, David Harbour and Rachel Weisz also had killer chemistry. We’ll just have to see what Kevin Feige has up his sleeve.
Black Widow is currently available to purchase at Target stores. Be sure to check out the 2021 movie release dates to plan your next movie experience
