The upcoming MCU movie,Black Widowwill reflect the shifting political climate, the #MeToo movement and contain feminist themes, says lead star Scarlett Johansson. In a recent interview, Johansson has stated thatBlack Widow, one of only a few female-led superhero blockbusters, will absolutely address how things have changed both on the big screen and in the real world within the last decade or so.
“I think this film in particular is very much reflective of what’s going on in regards to theTime’s Up movement and the #MeToo movement. It would be such a miss if we didn’t address that stuff, if this film didn’t take that head-on. I think, particularly for Cate, it was so important for her to make a movie about women who are helping other women, who lift other women up out of a very difficult situation. Someone asked me if Natasha was a feminist. Of course she is, it’s obvious. It’s kinda an asinine question.”
So, it sounds likeBlack Widowwill be using its position as a rarefemale-led franchise movieto enrich the story itself, with director Cate Shortland realising the importance of addressing ongoing issues and thus deciding to fold these themes into the movie.
Black Widowwill provide some insight into the origins of one of the foundingAvengers. At birth, the Black Widow, akaNatasha Romanova, is given to the KGB, which grooms her to become its ultimate operative. When the U.S.S.R. breaks up, the government tries to kill her as the action moves to present-day New York, where she is a freelance operative. Now, Natasha Romanoff finds herself alone and forced to confront a dangerous conspiracy with ties to her past. Pursued by a force that will stop at nothing to bring her down, Romanoff must deal with her history as a spy and the broken relationships left in her wake long before she became an Avenger.
The movie set to introduce a host of new characters, includingMidsommarstar Florence Pugh’s Yelena Belova, with MCU fans curious as to whether she will be taking over fromScarlett Johansson’s now deceased Natasha Romanoff. Well, according toBlack Widowdirector Cate Shortland, there is certainly an element of baton-passing going on. “[Kevin Feige] realized that the audience would expect an origin story so, of course, we went in the opposite direction,” Shortland said of the surprising direction of the movie. “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.”
Not only willBlack Widowreveal some of the character’s backstory while launching a potential franchise for another female superhero, but according to Feige we’ll also be learning, if not outright seeing some of Natasha Romanoff’s activities between other Marvel movies too. “She has such a rich backstory…We’ve hinted at it throughout all the other films.” Feige said recently. “But we approach it in a completely unexpected way. She’s been up to a lot all along - in between when we see her in the other movies - some of which will be surprising to people.”
Black Widowhas been delayed several times due to ongoing global circumstances. The movie was initially scheduled to be released back in May and is now scheduled to be released in the United States on July 20, 2025.Black Widowis the first movie in Phase Four of the MCU. This comes to us courtesy ofEmpire.
