What You Need to Know Before Watching 'Black Widow'
This article may contain spoilers for 'Black Widow'.
It’s been a long time coming — with the film’s release date being postponed three times since early 2020, fans of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) will finally get the chance to watch Marvel’s first film of Phase Four in theatres and Disney+ Premium today.
After Black Widow’s unfortunate sacrifice for the soul stone in ‘Avengers: Endgame,’ many are looking forward to seeing the original Avenger one last time before the next wave of Marvel characters get their chance to shine.
What you need to know before watching
Directed by Cate Shortland, the film is set chronologically between the events of ‘Captain America: Civil War’ and ‘Avengers: Infinity War’ — meaning that Avengers have since disbanded and Natasha is on the run.
In ‘Black Widow’, Natasha will confront her past by reuniting with a group of spies that were a crucial part of her upbringing with the Red Room: an organisation that brainwashes and trains spies to become future assassins. Together, they will attempt to take down a deadly assassin whose skill set is unlike anything Natasha has ever faced.
‘Expect the unexpected’ seems to be the main thing creators of the film are saying to fans of the franchise. Executive producer Brad Winderbaum explains that this movie will be unlike anything we’ve seen from the MCU before: “In every Marvel movie we try to bring a different tone, a different genre, a different idea to the table. And with ‘Black Widow’, we unveil a whole aspect of her history that’s completely unexpected.”
‘Black Widow’ will be the last film of Scarlett Johansson’s in the MCU, with the actress portraying Natasha for a decade since the second ‘Iron Man’ movie premiered. Since then, the character has been wildly beloved by fans everywhere — many of whom are still unable to process her shocking death in the last Avengers movie.
When asked about her experience playing Natasha, Scarlett had this to say: “I’ve been able to make a lot of discoveries about her — to find different strengths and different flaws. It’s been pretty therapeutic. I can’t imagine that many actors have the opportunity to do that with a character they’ve played for 10 years.”
Know the characters
If you don’t wish to go into the theatre unprepared for what’s to come, here is a brief rundown of the characters you need to know in this movie — so that you have one less thing to worry about.
Besides the obvious, ‘Black Widow’ brings five newcomers to the table: Yelena Belova, Alexei Shostakov (Red Guardian), Melina Vostokoff, Mason, and Taskmaster.
‘Little Women’ actress Florence Pugh plays Yelena, a fellow assassin and product of the Red Room who has a history with Natasha. ‘Stranger Things’ actor David Harbour also joins in the ranks as Alexei Shostakov, otherwise known as Red Guardian, a super soldier and spy during the Cold War. Be sure to keep a look out for ‘Disobedience’ actress Rachel Weisz who plays Melina Vostokoff, a highly trained spy and lead scientist of the Red Room.
As for Mason and Taskmaster’s roles in the film, well, you’ll just have to watch and see for yourself.
Where to watch 'Black Widow'
Want to be one of the first to watch ‘Black Widow’ this week? Fret not because we’ve got you covered.
The film will premiere in theatres on Friday, 9 July. If you’re not one for visiting theatres amidst the pandemic, you can also watch ‘Black Widow’ on Disney+ if you have a subscription with them. Simply play the additional Disney Plus Premier Access fee of SGD 38.98, and you’re good to go.
The film will also be available for regular Disney+ subscribers on 6 October this year.
