Finally, a Black Widow movie starring Scarlett Johannson looks ready to happen.
Well, we know at least one superhero from Marvel Studios'"Phase One" will be back in some form after Avengers: Endgame!
After years of mumbling and shuffling their feet every time the prospect of a Black Widowmovie was raised, it would seem that Marvel Studios has seen the light. More likely, they have seen the stellar box office numbers and critical acclaim that were heaped on Wonder Woman, the first female superhero to headline her own movie, and steered to success by a woman director.
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Still, the arrival of Wonder Woman on the big screen was at least 30 years overdue, and Black Widow doesn't feel like especially quick turnaround since we've had Scarlett Johansson kicking ass as Black Widow for nearly a decade (in six films across three different franchises!) with no solo movie to call her own.
To say that is a little weird is being charitable. But there is officially a Black Widow movie in the works, and here's everything we know so far...
Black Widow Cast
THR had word that Scarlett Johannson has apparently landed a superheroic $15 million payday to headline the film, a significant pay bump from what she was paid to appear in previous Marvel flicks.
Florence Pugh has joined the cast as another superspy, described by THR as "a spy on the same level as Romanoff, likely her moral opposite." Not a lot to go on, but we'll take it.
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Emma Watson may be the movie's co-lead, with Moonlight's Andre Holland a possibility for the villain. We have more details on that here.
As for whether or not Jeremy Renner as Hawkeye or any of the other Avengers might appear, well...it's too early to say. We'll update this as soon as we know!
Black Widow Director
Cate Shortland is directing the Black Widow movie. Shortland might be best known for working on last Berlin Syndrome, however we have been fans of the Australian filmmaker ever since we reviewed Lore back in 2013, which is a beautiful and painful film about a young German girl coming of age at the end of the Second World War, and realizing that her parents and their generation participated in a Holocaust. The leaders she was taught to admire were nationalist monsters. In retrospect, it sounds a bit prescient, eh?
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Hopefully, Black Widow will be heavy on the espionage and hard action and easy on the pure superheroics. This is a perfect opportunity for Marvel Studios to play with genres other than strict superheroics, much like they did with space opera/light comedy in Guardians of the Galaxy.
Black Widow Release Date
That "very early development" part and the fact that there's no actual greenlight both mean you shouldn't be holding your breath on this one just yet. But it's worth noting that there are currently a bunch of unclaimed dates on Marvel's superhero movie release schedule, and Black Widow could fill any of those. It might be a while, though... Marvel won't talk more freely about what their next round of movies is until after Avengers: Endgame has fully hit.
Here are those potential dates from the Marvel release calendar...
May 1, 2020 (this is a longshot, as the movie would have to begin production almost immediately); Nov. 6, 2020; Feb. 12, 2021; May 7, 2021; Nov. 5, 2021; Feb. 18, 2022; May 6, 2022; July 29, 2022. We'll let you know as soon as there's an official update.
Black Widow Movie Story
That Hashtag Show has word that the Black Widow movie will take place in the early 2000s, before Natasha's Iron Man 2 introduction. If this is true, it's an indicator that Marvel is loving their prequels these days, as Captain Marvel takes place in the 1990s.
Mike Cecchini is the Editor in Chief of Den of Geek. You can read more of his work here. Follow him on Twitter @wayoutstuff.