Despite Scarlett Johansson’s Black Widow being killed off in Avengers: Endgame when she sacrificed herself for the Soul Stone to save the universe from Thanos, she is receiving her solo spin-off movie set before the events of Avengers: Infinity War.
However, in an interview with Empire, Black Widow director Cate Shortland has revealed not only will the prequel tell an untold story of Natasha Romanoff’s past, but the film will also pass the baton to Johansson’s co-star Florence Pugh – who is set to play Yelena Belova.
“[Kevin Feige] realised that the audience would expect an origin story so, of course, we went in the opposite direction,” Shortland said. “And we didn’t know how great Florence Pugh would be. We knew she would be great, but we didn’t know how great. Scarlett is so gracious, like, ‘Oh, I’m handing her the baton.’ So it’s going to propel another female storyline.”
Although the film will seemingly propel Florence Pugh’s Yelena Belova into future storylines in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, it remains to be seen if the movie will offer closure and a satisfying farewell to Scarlett Johnasson and Black Widow. Meanwhile, Johansson herself has suggested that the film could launch its own series of solo movies, meaning we may not have seen the last of her Natasha Romanoff.
Are you looking forward to Marvel’s Black Widow? Are you excited to see Florence Pugh continue the legacy of Black Widow in the Marvel Cinematic Universe? Let us know in the comments below or tweet us @flickeringmyth…
In Marvel Studios’ action-packed spy thriller “Black Widow,” Natasha Romanoff, aka Black Widow, confronts the darker parts of her ledger when a dangerous conspiracy with ties to her past arises. Pursued by a force that will stop at nothing to bring her down, Natasha must deal with her history as a spy and the broken relationships left in her wake long before she became an Avenger.
Black Widow is being directed by Cate Shortland (Lore) and sees Scarlett Johansson reprising her role as Natasha Romanoff alongside Florence Pugh (Fighting With My Family) as Yelena Belova, O-T Fagbenle (The Handmaid’s Tale) as Mason, David Harbour (Stranger Things) as Alexei Shostakov/Red Guardian, Rachel Weisz (The Favourite) as Melina Vostokoff/Iron Maiden, and Ray Winstone (Sexy Beast) and Olivier Richters (The King’s Man) in as-yet-unrevealed roles. It is set for release on October 28th in the UK and on November 6th in North America.
