We got our first look at Marvel’s next cinematic effort back in December, with the trailer for Black Widow teasing what we could expect from Scarlett Johansson’s first solo movie in the MCU as Natasha Romanoff. Now, roughly a month later, a second preview has arrived, which gives us an even better feel for what the prequel will reveal about the Black Widow’s past.
Though Avengers: Endgame saw the heroine sacrifice herself for the sake of the universe (and Hawkeye), Black Widow will dip back in time to explore what Natasha got up to during the gap between Captain America: Civil War and Avengers: Infinity War, as well as hopping even further back to explain how she defected to S.H.I.E.L.D. in the first place. In particular, she’ll go on a mission that takes her back to her old stomping ground in Russia and reunites her with old friends, as well as pitting Nat against a new enemy in the form of the mysterious Taskmaster.
Johansson’s joined in the movie by Florence Pugh, as a character fans can’t wait to see in the MCU – Yelena Belova, another Black Widow who’ll be portrayed as something of a little sister to Nat. And don’t forget Rachel Weisz as Melina and David Harbour as Alexei Shostakov AKA the Red Guardian, Russia’s very own answer to Captain America who’s let himself go since his superhero days.
Directed by Cate Shortland, the film looks to be a follow-up to Captain America: The Winter Soldier in terms of mixing the Marvel house style with a slick spy thriller. Writer Jac Schaeffer has promised that there’ll be a lot of “visceral” and “thrilling” action in BW, too, just as there should be, given that this is the first chance for Natasha Romanoff to show us what she can do when she stars apart from the rest of the Avengers.
Black Widow, the first entry in Phase 4 of the MCU, is due out in theaters on May 1st. Don’t miss it.