A new featurette released by Marvel Studios today showcases the upcoming Black Widow movie, starring Scarlett Johansson, as a gateway to the future of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
In the video, Kevin Feige, Marvel Studios’ president and chief creative officer, talks about the company’s eagerness to tell more of the story of Natasha Romanoff. He talks about how the Black Widow film is the “perfect transitional point” into the MCU’s Phase 4.
The featurette further promotes Black Widow as an ideal place to debut some new characters which will also plant seeds for the MCU’s future. As fans know, actors Rachel Weisz, David Harbour and Florence Pugh all appear in the film and are new members of the Marvel family.
Pugh will be part of the upcoming Disney+ series Hawkeye, which will follow Clint Barton passing the Hawkeye mantle to Hailee Steinfield’s Kate Bishop.
Feige noted that Black Widow would revisit the character’s past in the MCU to shed new light on certain events. He had previously confirmed that a scene between Loki and Natasha in 2012’s The Avengers would be put into context, according to CBR.com. That special moment involves Natasha interrogating Loki in the Helicarrier cell, before the God of Mischief begins to taunt her with recollections of the past. Black Widow’s narrative will help explain why those events were painful for the character to recall.
In the new Black Widow featurette, Feige also shares that fans may bring presumptions with them to the film, and assured them that they know some characters inside and out.
“We like to subvert those,” he said, adding that there will be a few surprises thrown in along the way. One of those will be the identity of new villain, Taskmaster, who Weisz has described as “the ultimate secret weapon.”
Fans will know for sure soon enough as Black Widow arrives in theaters and on Disney+ Premier Access July 9. Directed by Cate Shortland, Black Widow stars Scarlett Johansson as Natasha Romanoff/Black Widow, Florence Pugh as Yelena Belova, David Harbour as Alexei Shostakov/Red Guardian, O-T Fagbenle as Mason and Rachel Weisz as Melina Vostokoff.
