Our first peek at Black Widow is finally here! It feels like we’ve been waiting years for this. Oh wait, that’s because we have…
Suit up:
This trailer seems to confirm timeline that adventure is at least post-Ultron if not post-Civil War. Natasha is getting back in touch with her old colleagues to finish some business and wipe a little more red out of that ledger. (Did we need the “you got fat joke”, though? Did we? Even if it’s not being directed at Natasha, it seems like an unnecessary jab in one of Marvel’s only female-led film trailers. Kind of a weird foot to start off on.)
Black Widow hits theaters on May 1st, 2020.
From what I’ve heard, it is post-Civil War. Which fits the lines in the trailer about “nothing lasts forever” and “I heard you had to leave in a hurry.”
It seems like every scene was shot specifically for the trailer, and it just layed into the saccharine way too hard. I was super excited for this, but after that I’m no longer so sure. Honestly, this is the first time I can remember that I was doubtful about a Marvel movie after seeing the trailer.
Ross and Nat wouldn’t be on speaking terms, post Civil War, so I don’t think so. I was thinking post Winter Soldier pre Ultron, because it could explain why her past was so dominant in her thoughts for Wanda to play with in Ultron. It could even include the scene where she learns she’s been made infertile(and hopefully put better context around that “Not having kids makes killing easier” thing).
But we know for a fact Nat went off without Steve after she testified in Winter Soldier, so this would seem to fit the timeline.
I must say the plot as presented surprised me. While her past with Yelena is complicated, I expected them to be antagonists to one another in this. Instead finding out she’s teaming up with her old Russian squad is intriguing to me.
Who’s playing Taskmaster again?
@3/Aeryl: The post-Civil War dating was confirmed by Entertainment Weekly back in July. However, the movie appears to have flashbacks to earlier times, so the Ross scene could be from one of those.
And I don’t think there’s ever been a time that Natasha’s past hasn’t been dominant in her thoughts. Clearing the “red in her ledger,” atoning for her villainous past, has been her driving motivation since we met her.
After Winter Soldier, Natasha left to become a full-time Avenger, which is where we found her in Age of Ultron. She told the committee “You know where to find me,” which isn’t consistent with her diving back into her secretive past. The whole point of her arc’s resolution in AoU was that she was finally stepping away from her secretive past and coming out into the light, embracing the role of superhero instead of spy. This movie makes more sense after Civil War when the Avengers thing fell through and she lost her certainty again.
The actor playing Taskmaster has not been announced yet.
Ah, Russians being played by Americans and Brits talking to each other in English with a bad Russian accent! The good old traditions live on!
Flashbacks are likely, but for that matter, this movie could easily do time skips and span several years; it’s not like there aren’t gaps between movies that could use filling.
Hell, they might use the structure to introduce Yelena and show her being “rehabilitated” from her shady past –then finish up shortly after Endgame, when Yelena introduces herself to the new/surviving Avengers as the new Black Widow.
I’ve been really looking forward to this movie, but I have to say that this trailer was not encouraging.
Not too fond of Taskmaster’s helmet design. It look’s less intimidating and more like a edgy Power Ranger. I love the Red Guardian suit though.
Those who speak Russian just hope that they will at least finally hire someone to check writings, so that there wouldn’t be failures like Ащьф Лштшфум (Bourne Identity).
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Looks good to me. I will miss her character as the MCU goes forward.
Remember the writer admitted to never caring about superhero fiction until she got highered… Why have faith
I still say this is too little too late, a poor make-good for killing the character in Endgame. She was already the leader of the team during the five-year post-snap period, she deserved a chance to lead the team properly in the wake of the loss of Cap and Iron Man after everyone was restored.
I’m excited about the movie because I’ve been waiting for it for ten years, but that excitement is muted by the mishandling of the character prior to this.
—Keith R.A. DeCandido’
Well, this is certainly another MCU film.
Was I the only one that thought that group scene was literally a family? Mother, father, two sisters? Yes, the actors’ ages don’t really work for that, but we don’t know how old the characters are supposed to be.
@14/krad: I gather it was Ike Perlmutter who kept Marvel Studios from doing this, Captain Marvel, Black Panther, etc., so they couldn’t make it until he was taken out of the decision-making process a few years ago. Granted, it would be nice if they’d gotten it into development sooner after that, but I figure they had to work around Johanssen’s busy schedule (and high salary). So I see it as a situation where they’re doing the best they can given the constraints they were placed under by an executive who’s no longer a factor, and I can forgive that, though the timing is disappointing.
Trailer looks fun. I was born to cosplay this Red Guardian.
I just don’t think it works as well post-Civil War as it does post Winter Soldier. After she sacrificed her new gig to stay with the people she truly cared for, why would she feel the need to dig in her past. This trip just doesn’t seem to gel with where Nat is at that time.
No, it makes so much more sense to me for this to be post Winter Soldier. Perhaps something interesting pops up in the SHIELD data she uploaded, and sends her investigating her past. She’s still very much a character in turmoil after Winter Soldier, in Civil War she seems to make her peace with her role in this world, so it just doesn’t feel right to me that she’d start digging at that point.
I get the perspective that being at peace is what gives her the strength to finally confront her past. It just doesn’t resonate with me. Being at peace with yourself, means being at peace with your past as well.
EDIT: It could also smooth over Ross’ abrupt return to the MCU. He hadn’t been seen since failing spectacularly with Hulk, and now he’s a Cabinet member? It doesn’t work. But if he were assigned to help pick up the pieces after the collapse of SHIELD, and is successful, in part because of the events of this movie and what Nat does, that makes his promotion believable. Plus, that also plays into Nat’s turmoil in Civil War. She is in part responsible for elevating the man who tears the Avengers apart, and she’s gotta feel guilty for that.
Just a missed opportunity for me.
@19/Aeryl: A teaser trailer doesn’t reveal that much about a movie’s story, which is why it’s called just a teaser. Maybe when you see the movie, you’ll understand why they decided it had to come after Civil War. Have some faith that they know what they’re doing.
@17 / @CLB: Yeah, Feige and Bob Iger’s recent memoir both confirmed those longstanding rumors of Perlmutter being vehemently anti-diversity.
From what I understand, that’s also why Inhumans was on the original Phase Three production slate. It was Feige’s concession to Perlmutter after fighting tooth and nail to get Black Panther and Captain Marvel in Phase Three.
And I don’t especially like Iger’s tenure at Disney, but even I’ll concede that removing Feige and Marvel Studios from Perlmutter’s oversight was one of his best decisions.
The lovely Raquel Weisz as a Black Widow (heck, THREE Black Widows in one scene?!?) AND an ex-Soviet Superhero who – rather endearingly – looks more likely a teddybear than the Russian Bear? Put me down for one ticket, please and thank you!
@20, I am sure they will come up with a plot relevant reason to make it so. That’s not what I am arguing. I am arguing that it doesn’t make sense thematically with what we know of Nat’s journey.
I’m sure I’ll enjoy the movie. I’d have enjoyed it more if I weren’t sitting in it wondering why she left her new family to do this, and wondering why Steve or Wanda couldn’t have come with her(aside from a line from her saying “This is something I need to do myself” which is SO CLICHE at this point).
A solo mission for Nat makes sense after WS, after CW, and everything she had to give up to do the right thing, I just don’t see her walking away from them after that. You interpret Nat’s line at the end of WS as an admission that she’s joining the Avengers, but I just read it as a statement that she’s done operating in the shadows. They would “know where to find {her}” not because she would be lolling around Avengers HQ, but because she wouldn’t be hiding what she was doing.
Plus, Ross is a great foil, but it’s a bit aggravating that he just shows back up in Civil War, I’d love to fill in the gaps with him.
@23/Aeryl: Again, since you don’t know the actual story of the movie, you have no idea whether it makes sense or not. The people who wrote the movie know far better than you. They had reasons for setting it there that you aren’t qualified to judge because you just don’t know as much as they do. Once you’ve seen the movie, you’ll understand. Before then, it makes no sense to jump to conclusions.
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I enjoyed the trailer and I was surprised that it got me excited for the new movie. After Endgame, I felt disjointed from the MCU because that movie disappointed me so much. So the fact this teaser got me excited for a MCU movie again feels good.
However, the fat ‘joke’ irked me and I’m glad to see I’m not the only one. It reminded me of the body shaming Thor was subjected to in Endgame and I had hoped Marvel wouldn’t resort to that kind of ‘humour’ again.
@23 I actually think it makes as much sense for Natasha to be solo post CW as it does post WS. I agree that at the end of WS you definitely get a vibe of Natasha needing to “figure things out” so going to see her “family” would make sense.
However, post CW she is likely going to be somewhat on the run. She helped Cap and Bucky escape and T’Challa reported that (prior to realizing that Bucky was innocent). A person like Ross isn’t going to let that slide – Tony even states it: “T’challa told Ross what you did, so…they’ll be coming for you now, you know.” Natasha retorts that she’s not the one who needs to watch her back, and leaves.
To me either of these presents a great spot for Black Widow to be on her own, getting involved in something that requires her to track down faces from her past. Arguably she’d need non-Avenger help MORE post Civil War – she likely can’t find Cap on her own since he’s in Wakanda.
@28/Kalvin: Good point. Whatever’s in Natasha’s past, it doesn’t seem like something that would be salutary or particularly safe for her to involve herself in again. Post-TWS, she’s a prominent hero, an Avenger, the whistleblower who exposed Hydra’s infiltration of SHIELD. She’s in a good place and wouldn’t want to mess that up unnecessarily. Post-CW, she’s a wanted fugitive, a criminal in the eyes of the authorities, needing to lay low and return to her old clandestine ways. So she might have no choice but to get drawn back into her old life as a spy.
That looks like a digitally-touched up, younger William Hurt to me.
I hadn’t realized this was an ‘interquel’ within the timeline of the MCU but I’m hoping we at least get some flashbacks/insights to her past while keeping at least some of the mystery.
Also, I continue to be amused by Hopper as a Russian guy named Alexei :) It took me a bit to recognize who that was – I could tell he was really familiar but it wasn’t until I looked up the cast that I remembered reading about that at some point.
Anyway, looking forward to it although I agree I wish it could have come sooner and that other voices are now prevailing in the studio.