For fans, ‘Black Widow’ is a decade in making
Movie a tribute to character, kickoff to new Marvel wave
Scarlett Johansson has had quite a bit of time to think about a “Black Widow ” movie. After all, she’s played the character in seven movies spanning 10 years.
Yet unlike many of her fellow Avengers who got grand introductions in movies and sequels bearing their names on the marquee, she built the enigmatic Natasha Romanoff as a sideline scene stealer beginning with her introduction in 2010’s “Iron Man 2” through her exit in “Avengers: Endgame.”
By the time her name was called for a coveted standalone, she knew that, above all, she wanted Black Widow’s film to be unexpected. And as the first lead actor to serve as a producer on a Marvel film, she actually had a say.
The character, introduced in the comics in 1964, is inextricably tied to a Soviet-era spy aesthetic fitting of James Bond. But that seemed like the easy route.
“I didn’t want it to be an espionage film,” Johansson said. “I think we avoided that.”
Instead, “Black Widow” helps peel back the layers on a hard-to-grasp character, with a little bit of an origin story, a little bit of a coda and the introduction of people outside of the Avengers who mean something to her. Johansson also personally recruited Australian indie director Cate Shortland, another unexpected and inspired choice, to helm.
Marvel veteran Eric Pearson had the task of writing the script and took advantage of the fact that the character seemed to change and become more emotionally vulnerable between “Civil War” and “Infinity War”/”endgame,” which is when “Black Widow” is set.
“We’re looking at what happened there,” Pearson said. “What happened when she went back and confronted her past that unlocked her heart and kind of opened her up to the world and eventually led her to make that all-time sacrifice at the end of ‘Endgame.’”
Part of that involved introducing a sort-of sister character in Yelena Belova, played as an adult by Florence Pugh, who also had the traumatic experience of being trained in the “Red Room” as a child.
Despite not really knowing one another beforehand, they quickly connected on set, partly due to a natural chemistry between the two and partly due to the extreme nature of filming a big budget action thriller.
“Our Day One was me throwing her against a cabinet and we both had our hands in each other’s armpits. And it was in that moment that I was like, ‘Oh, my God, I have a sweaty armpit. And Scarlett Johansson is touching me,’” Pugh said. “Once that ice is broken, you know, best mates. Weird first day, though, to start with.”
It was a fittingly epic endeavor, shooting over 87 days in London, Norway, Budapest, Morocco and Atlanta, with showstopping fights, motorcycle stunts, car chases and a skydiving sequence.
“Black Widow” has the distinction of being the first Marvel movie debuting day-and-date on a streaming platform, after being delayed more than a year due to the pandemic. Like a handful of Disney releases over the past year, it’ll be available Friday in theaters globally and to rent on Disney+ for $30.
The film isn’t just a tribute and a goodbye to a beloved character, though. It also kicks off “Phase Four” of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.