Black Widow Is Not The End Of Natasha’s Story
We’ve been waiting way too long for the solo debut of Scarlet Johansson’s and Marvel Studios Black Widow. Debuting in Iron Man 2, Natasha Romanoff served as a founding Avenger in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Scarlet Johansson has appeared in 8 of the 23 movies that compromised the Infinity Saga and it wasn’t until after her death in Avengers Endgame that she finally got her own solo film.
Originally slated to release on May 1st in 2020, the global Covid-19 pandemic pushed back the release date multiple times. The movie is finally set to release in theaters and on special access through Disney Plus on July 9th. We’ve heard that this movie will serve to end Natasha’s story and originally, it would have been the first movie to kick off Phase 4 of the MCU post-Infinity Saga.
There has been some debate among fans about what to expect out of the Black Widow movie. It seemed an odd choice to kick off a new phase when it was ending the story of a now-deceased character from phase 3. The trailers we’ve gotten up until this point gave general clues as to the plot of the movie, without spoiling how it fits into the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The latest trailer, however, shows us much more if you look and listen to the right parts.
Natasha’s Story Ended with Endgame
Here’s the bottom line; Black Widow isn’t Natasha’s movie. It’s a part of her story, yes, but her true ending happening when she sacrificed herself so Hawkeye could obtain the Soul Gem. Black Widow is actually the start of Yelena Belova’s story, our future Black Widow.
Yelena is a sister figure to Natasha and in the trailers, we see that between them and David Harbour’s character Alexei Shostakov aka the Red Guardian, and Rachel Weisz character Melina Vostokoff (another Black Widow) they all consider themselves to be a family. Up until this final trailer, the movie seemed as though it would follow a pretty predictable path. Natasha, for some reason, seeks out her old pseudo-family and convinces them to help her do something.
The trailers lacked any real stakes or emotions, through them it seemed like the movie was going to a straight-to-the-point spy thriller to serve as Natasha Romanoff’s final farewell to the fans and to the franchise. It would also alleviate any fan concern that the Black Widow never got her own solo movie. So how was this movie supposed to kick off the MCU phase four? With a new Black Widow, of course.
Who Is The New Black Widow?
“I made mistakes choosing between what the world wants you to be and who you are,” this chilling line from the trailer sets a new tone for what to expect from Black Widow.
Natasha learned long what her role in the world was when she joined the Avengers. She’s mentioned in past movies wanting to erase the red in ledger, about dreaming she could change and in those dreams being an Avenger. Throughout the MCU she struggled with accepting herself as one of the heroes, but in her final moments of Avengers Endgame, she was every bit a hero as Iron Man or Captain America.
In the trailer, there is a line from Yelena, “It was real to me.” This seems to be in response to Natasha claiming the roles they played with their history as spies, as not being real. Yelena goes on to claim, “to me, you were everything…” which suggests that Natasha leaving hurt Yelena. She likely stayed in or is still operating within the Black Widow program.
As Natasha attempts to deal with her history, mend the broken relationships left behind from her times before the Avengers, she will stop at nothing to bring her family back together. The story will be about Natasha trying to save the family she still has left. In the trailer, we see a villainous man whispering to Taskmaster, “Bring her home.”
As Natasha tries to save her sister they will be pursued by a force that will stop at nothing to accomplish its goals. That force will be represented by Taskmaster.
The events of this movie, coupled with the consequences of Avengers Endgame and the news of Natasha’s death will inevitably lead to Yelena finally following in the footsteps of her sister to become the new Black Widow.
I anticipate the final scenes of this movie will take place in the present day, with Yelena meeting with whoever is going to be helming the next wave of Avengers. Still left in the wake of her death, Yelena will pick up where Natasha left off.
Marvel’s Black Widow is set to premiere in theaters on Disney Plus premier access on July 9th. Directed by Cate Shortland, it stars Scarlet Johansson, Florence Pugh, David Harbour, and Rachel Weisz.
More Comic Book News & Talk on The Other Identity Podcast
Be sure to follow CheckpointXP on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram!
Feature Image Courtesy of Marvel Studios Black Widow Trailer.