Ever since Scarlett Johansson took the super-spy to the big screen in 2010 with Iron Man 2, Marvel fans have been clamouring for a standalone Black Widow feature. Today, not only is the comic character making her solo debut, but she is practically setting off the latest Step 4 of Marvel-as long as there are no further complications caused by COVID-19. With Black Widow at the helm, the Marvel Cinematic Universe is quite literally entering a new age.
Marvel Studios, however, has some serious concerns for fans in this first Step 4 film that it will need to tackle. Like, what’s the next thing about Black Widow and her MCU role? Bear in mind that her storyline concluded with Avengers: Endgame. Here’s all we know so far about it to help give you a better picture of the latest standalone Black Widow film reaching cinemas later this year, and how it could affect the future of the MCU.
Black Window 2: Plot!
Marvel plans and launches films in narratively related stages for the uninitiated. Many of the titles of each phase are separate films for certain characters, and in the final film of the process, they typically work up with all the Avengers teaming together to deal with a threat. By introducing Spider-Man: Far From Home as more of an Epilogue to the Infinity Stone-driven story of the first three stages, Stage 3 bucked the pattern somewhat.
This places Black Widow in a fascinating role. An entirely new phase of Marvel films, Phase 4, will begin, although it is set nearly a decade ago, in the previous phase of the MCU. It also stars a character that passed away in Step 3. Well, it’s a Phase 3-ish movie, and still, it’s expected to be a Phase 4 feature.
Black Window 2: Cast!
Here is a list of the main cast and crew, all of whom Marvel Studios have confirmed:
* Scarlett Johansson-Black Widow
* alias Natasha Romanoff
* Pugh
* Florence-Yelena Belova
* Rachel
* Weisz-Vostokoff Melina
* Alexei Shostakov alias
* The Red Protector-David Harbour
* Tony Stark, aka Iron
* Man Jr.-Robert Downey Jr.
* William
* Hurt-Ross Thaddeus
* Cate
* Shortland-Management, Management
* Kevin
* Feige-Producer
* Eric
* Pearson-The author
Black Window 2: Release date!
At the height of the pandemic, Marvel Studios revealed that it had pushed back the release of the film from 1 May 2020 to 6 November 2020, as if audiences had not waited long enough for Black Widow. The Eternals, another Marvel movie, was originally scheduled to premiere on that date; it was also delayed.
Black Window 2: Storyline!
The last time we saw Natasha Romanoff (aka the Black Widow), she was struggling for the opportunity to throw herself off a cliff with her long-time pal, Hawkeye (played by Jeremy Renner). She triumphed and died.
Therefore, following the events in 2016’s Captain America: Civil War, the new Black Widow movie is set instead-when she is alive and moves on from having to choose between her two friends, Tony Stark and Steve Rogers. The upcoming Marvel film will see the return of Scarlett Johannson as Natasha Romanoff.
She is researching her history, and how, in a Soviet preparation program known as the Red Room, she was trained to become a Black Widow assassin. Johannson is supposed to transfer the Black Widow baton, like one of our other favourite Marvel superheroes, to another assassin, Yelena Belova (played by Florence Pugh), who studied alongside Romanoff.
Early movie trailers show Romanoff reuniting with whatever sort of family unit she’s had in the past, including Yelena from Pugh. We see Rachel Weisz as Melina Vostok off and David Harbour from Stranger Things, too. He plays the answer of the Soviet Union to Captain America, the Red guardian.