BLACK WIDOW

Worth Russian out for…

DIRECTOR Cate Shortland STARRING Scarlett Johansson, Florence Pugh, Rachel Weisz, David Harbour, Ray Winstone

We’ve been waiting for a standalone Black Widow movie since the superspy first popped up in the form of Scarlett Johansson in Iron Man 2, and the wait became excruciating when the film was postponed twice in 2020, S.H.I.E.L.D.-ing itself from the Coronavirus.

In May, we trust, it’ll finally be here, giving us a conspiracy plot that digs deep into Natasha Romanoff’s past, when she trained for the KGB. Along for the thrill-ride will be her ‘sisters’ from the program Yelena (Florence Pugh) and Melina (Rachel Weisz), along with their father figure Red Guardian – played, judging from the trailer, with a splashes of humour and pathos by David Harbour.

“Marvel allowed me to be myself,” says director Cate Shortland, known for heart-wrenching dramas Somersault and Lore. “It’s spectacular and fun, but we were allowed to be really nuanced, and to make a character-driven movie.”

We at TF Towers are especially looking forward to Johansson and Pugh sharing a screen, and Shortland promises they won’t disappoint. “It was really beautiful seeing them together. You’ve got these two really strong, smart women across from each other, and they’re both really sexy, and they both have a really good sense of humour. Florence is totally an anarchist on set. She’s a Mack Truck. She just powers through moments. And I think that was great for Scarlett, because she had to come up and meet that.”

ETA I 7 MAY 2021