After sacrificing her life in order to save the universe during the dramatic events of Avengers: Endgame, audiences have been left wondering how, exactly, the solo Black Widow movie will play out. With the movie set to introduce a host of other characters, including Midsommar star Florence Pugh’s Yelena Belova, MCU fans have been curious as to whether she will be taking over from Scarlet Johansson now deceased Natasha Romanoff. Well, according to Black Widow director Cate Shortland, there is certainly an element of baton-passing going on.
“[Kevin Feige] realized that the audience would expect an origin story so, of course, we went in the opposite direction. And we didn’t know how great Florence Pugh would be. We knew she would be great, but we didn’t know how great. Scarlett is so gracious, like, ‘Oh, I’m handing her the baton.’ So it’s going to propel another female storyline.”
So, it sounds like the Black Widow movie will be doing what many had expected, and set up Yelena Belova for further adventures. Alongside this, Shortland also says that the movie will provide closure following the sacrifice made by Natasha.
“In Endgame, the fans were upset that Natasha did not have a funeral. Whereas Scarlett, when I spoke to her about it, said Natasha wouldn’t have wanted a funeral. She’s too private, and anyway, people don’t really know who she is. So what we did in this film was allow the ending to be the grief the individuals felt, rather than a big public outpouring. I think that’s a fitting ending for her.”
Black Widow will provide some insight into the origins of one of the founding Avengers. At birth, the Black Widow, aka Natasha Romanova, is given to the KGB, which grooms her to become its ultimate operative. When the U.S.S.R. breaks up, the government tries to kill her as the action moves to present-day New York, where she is a freelance operative. Now, Natasha Romanoff finds herself alone and forced to confront a dangerous conspiracy with ties to her past. Pursued by a force that will stop at nothing to bring her down, Romanoff must deal with her history as a spy and the broken relationships left in her wake long before she became an Avenger.
Knowing the movie is set following the events of 2016’s Captain America: Civil War, audiences will get to see what Black Widow got up to during a time when superheroes have been outlawed. Not only that, but according to Feige we’ll also be learning, if not outright seeing some of Natasha Romanoff’s activities between other Marvel movies too. “She has such a rich backstory…We’ve hinted at it throughout all the other films.” Feige said recently. “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.”
Black Widow is currently scheduled for release on November 6, 2020. This comes to us from Empire.
