The Marvel Cinematic Universe officially says goodbye to its beloved Avenger, Natasha Romanoff. Here's everything you need to know before watching the film. 

This article may contain spoilers for &#39;Black Widow&#39;.&nbsp;

It&rsquo;s been a long time coming &mdash; with the film&rsquo;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&rsquo;s first film of Phase Four in theatres and Disney+ Premium today.&nbsp;

After Black Widow&rsquo;s unfortunate sacrifice for the soul stone in &lsquo;Avengers: Endgame,&rsquo; many are looking forward to seeing the original Avenger one last time before the next wave of Marvel characters get&nbsp;their chance to shine.&nbsp;

What you need to know before watching

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Directed by Cate Shortland, the film is set chronologically between the events of &lsquo;Captain America: Civil War&rsquo; and &lsquo;Avengers: Infinity War&rsquo; &mdash; meaning that Avengers have since disbanded and Natasha is on the run.&nbsp;

In &lsquo;Black Widow&rsquo;, 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.

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&lsquo;Expect the unexpected&rsquo; 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&rsquo;ve seen from the MCU before: &ldquo;In every Marvel movie we try to bring a different tone, a different genre, a different idea to the table. And with &lsquo;Black Widow&rsquo;, we unveil a whole aspect of her history that&rsquo;s completely unexpected.&rdquo;

Official Trailer for Marvel's 'Black Widow'

&lsquo;Black Widow&rsquo; will be the last film of Scarlett Johansson&rsquo;s in the MCU, with the actress portraying Natasha for a decade since the second &lsquo;Iron Man&rsquo; movie premiered. Since then, the character has been wildly beloved by fans everywhere &mdash; many of whom are still unable to process her shocking death in the last Avengers movie.&nbsp;

When asked about her experience playing Natasha, Scarlett had this to say: &ldquo;I&rsquo;ve been able to make a lot of discoveries about her &mdash; to find different strengths and different flaws. It&rsquo;s been pretty therapeutic. I can&rsquo;t imagine that many actors have the opportunity to do that with a character they&rsquo;ve played for 10 years.&rdquo;

If you don&rsquo;t wish to go into the theatre unprepared for what&rsquo;s to come, here is a brief rundown of the characters you need to know in this movie &mdash; so that you have one less thing to worry about.&nbsp;

Besides the obvious, &lsquo;Black Widow&rsquo; brings five newcomers to the table: Yelena Belova, Alexei Shostakov (Red Guardian), Melina Vostokoff, Mason, and Taskmaster.

Natasha Romanoff (Black Widow). Credit: ©Marvel Studios 2021

Natasha, Alexei Shostakov (Red Guardian), and Yelena Belova. Credit: ©Marvel Studios 2021

&lsquo;Little Women&rsquo; actress Florence Pugh plays Yelena, a fellow assassin and product of the Red Room who has a history with Natasha. &lsquo;Stranger Things&rsquo; 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 &lsquo;Disobedience&rsquo; actress Rachel Weisz who&nbsp;plays Melina Vostokoff, a highly trained spy and lead scientist of the Red Room.&nbsp;

As for Mason and Taskmaster&rsquo;s roles in the film, well, you&rsquo;ll just have to watch and see for yourself.

Where to watch &#39;Black Widow&#39;

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Want to be one of the first to watch &lsquo;Black Widow&rsquo; this week? Fret not because we&rsquo;ve got you covered.&nbsp;

The film will premiere in theatres on Friday, 9 July. If you&rsquo;re not one for visiting theatres amidst the pandemic, you can also watch &lsquo;Black Widow&rsquo; on Disney+ if you have a subscription with them. Simply play the additional Disney Plus Premier Access fee of SGD 38.98, and you&rsquo;re good to go.

The film will also be available for regular Disney+ subscribers on 6 October this year.&nbsp;

What You Need to Know Before Watching 'Black Widow'

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