One of Marvel’s worst-kept secrets, the upcoming Black Widow solo movie directed by Cate Shortland, finally revealed some official details at this year’s San Diego Comic-Con.
Scheduled for release on May 1, 2020, it will be the first film of Marvel’s Phase 4.
Scarlett Johansson reprises her role of Natasha Romanoff in this film set before the events of Avengers: Endgame. Although fans have long been asking for this solo film, Johansson thinks now is the right time for it.
“I don’t think I could have played this iteration of Natasha ten years ago,” said Johansson at the Marvel Studios panel hosted in Hall H at San Diego Comic-Con. “It would have been a very different film and you know I get to play Natasha as a fully realized woman in all of her many facets.”
Also joining the cast are Florence Pugh as Yelena Belova, a fellow spy who has used the Black Widow mantle in the comics, Rachel Weisz as Melina, presumably modeled after Melina Vostokoff aka the Iron Maiden in the comics, O-T Fagbenle as Mason, a fixer who has a history with Natasha, and David Harbour, Alexei Shostakov, a.k.a. the Red Guardian, a Russian version of Captain America.
In addition to a formal introduction of the cast, Hall H goers were treated to exclusive footage that hinted at the plot of the film and where it takes place in the MCU timeline.
After playing a montage of Black Widow’s earlier appearances in the MCU, a scene labeled “Budapest” shows Natasha finding Yelena in an abandoned apartment. After neither yield their weapons, they engage in hand-to-hand combat. The fight sequence is impressive and more reminiscent of some of the action seen in Captain America: Winter Soldier or the Bourne and John Wick franchises.
After both women give in after a stalemate they have drinks and Natasha addresses Yelena as “sister,” inferring the two will team up as allies. The trailer cuts in some other action sequences before the big reveal at the end that Black Widow will be facing Taskmaster.
You can get a first look at the character in the poster designed by Andy Park that Marvel handed out at their booth on the last day of the convention.
While we don’t know yet what unique spin the MCU will give this version of Taskmaster, we do know from the footage he will have his classic powers of being able to instantly replicate the physical movement of his opponents.
In addition to the great fight sequences, fans should be excited to learn about the Budapest setting. An infamous mission in Budapest has been referenced before in the MCU and it looks like fans will finally get to learn what happened there.
The role of Taskmaster hasn’t been publicly cast yet. So either Marvel is saving that secret for another day, or one of the characters already introduced will be taking on the mantle. Either way, the film is sure to have plenty of twists and turns like any good spy movie.
Black Widow hits theatres on May 1, 2020.