Black Widow

DIRECTOR CATE SHORTLAND

RELEASE DATE 1 MAY

STARRING SCARLETT JOHANSSON, RACHEL WEISZ,

FLORENCE PUGH, DAVID HARBOUR

CERTIFICATE TBC

RUNNING TIME 93 MINS

AFTER THE HUGE SUCCESS OF AVENGERS: ENDGAME, THE MARVEL CINEMATIC UNIVERSE ENTERS A NEW PHASE WITH BLACK WIDOW. As one ofthe few remaining Avengers notto gether ownsolo outing, itfeels naturalthatthe superspy is the nextto strike outonher own, butonly, says Scarlett Johansson, ifitmakes sense to do so.

“I didnotwantitto be anoriginstory,” the MCU veterantoldVanity Fair. “I didnotwantitto be an espionage story. I didn’t wantitto feelsuperficial atall. I only wantedto do have beenhappy to letthat be it. So there hadto be a reasonto do itother than justto milksomething.”

Setafter Captain America: Civil Warbut before the climactic events ofEndgame, Black Widow follows NatashaRomanoff (Johansson) as she discovers adangerous conspiracy withties to her chequeredpast. Atayoung age, she was indoctrinated by the RedRoom, aRussian training programme that tookyoung girls andturned theminto lethalundercover assassins. Now, the secret agentmustconfronther shadowy beginnings and

“Black Widow is shaping up to be the perfect action-packed thriller to kick-start Marvel’s new wave of superhero stories”

itifitactually fitwhere I was withthatcharacter. I had spentsuchalong time peeling those layers away –I feltthatunless we gotto something deep, thenthere was no reasonto make it. Because I didmy job in Endgameandactually felt satisfiedwiththat. I would dealwiththe broken relationships she castaside, allwhile being pursuedby anunknownforce that willstop atnothing to bring her down.

Luckily for her, Romanoffis joinedby some oldfriends to help her along the way. Inthree neverbefore-seenroles, David Harbour, RachelWeisz and Florence Pughstar as faces fromRomanoff’s past. Newly anointedOscar nominee Pughplays Yelena–or “Sis”, as Natashacalls her inthe trailer –andHollywood heavyweightWeisz drops in as Melina, complete with thickRussianaccent. Stranger Things’ Harbour pops up as comic-book favourite The RedGuardian –or Alexeito his friends.

Another additionto the Marvelstable is Australian director Cate Shortland, who’s helming her first superhero flickafter spending the early partof her career stockpiling indie creds as anauteur ofsmall budgetdramas (WorldWar II romance Lore; horror mystery Berlin Syndrome).

AtSanDiego Comic Con lastyear, Shortlandrevealed whattemptedher outofthe arthouse andinto the multiplex. “Natashahas so many secrets andshe’s got so muchvulnerability and that’s whatmakes her such agreatheroine,” Shortland said. “Inthis filmwe getto understandher pastand she gets to putallthe pieces ofherselftogether and come outawhole person.”

Black Widow is shaping up to be the perfect action-packedthriller to kick-startMarvel’s new wave ofsuperhero stories.

Alex Flood

IN THE KNOW

1

This will be the ninth time Scarlett Johansson has played Natasha Romanoff. Black Widow is being released 10 years since her introduction in Iron Man 2.

2

Natasha Romanoff boasts extensive training in various combat styles, including karate, judo, kung fu and wrestling.

3

Whether we learn more about what happened in Budapest remains to be seen, but Johansson says, “I’m looking to wipe out some of that red in my ledger so you guys will be seeing more of that.”