Producer and President of Marvel Studios, Kevin Feige and director Cate Shortland, are hyped for Black Widow, which occurs between Captain America: Civil War and Avengers: Infinity War. To get the full scope of the film, read Germain Lussier’s review.
At the Black Widow premiere fan event in Los Angeles, Feige spoke with ETonline about Scarlett Johannson and Natasha Romanoff’s departure from the MCU and how he’s looking forward to actress Florence Pugh creating a new legacy as Yelena Romanov.
“Marvel is always about new beginnings, and Scarlett Johansson is such an amazing partner for us,” he said. “She was a producer on this film. She was the one that brought us our amazing director, Cate Shortland, and I am excited to continue working with her in any way possible if we’re so lucky.”
In Black Widow, fans get a taste of Natasha and who she was before the Avengers and address her history as a Red Room trained assassin and spy. Feigh explains, “It was important to Scarlett that she wanted to create a new ensemble for this film, to inform people about Natasha’s past, about her origins. And that meant a new family that we hadn’t seen before.”
Now that Natasha and Johansson are gone, it’s time to get ready for a potential Widow replacement in Natasha’s sister-figure and fellow Red Room assassin, Yelena Belova. “Yelena is a character we’ve wanted to bring into the universe for many, many years,” Feige shared. “And Florence Pugh is such a spectacular actress. Soon after we hired her, she was nominated for an Academy Award [for 2019's Little Women].”
As you know, Feige loves casting Oscar nominees and winners, so Pugh was a perfect candidate to introduce into the MCU family. “I can’t wait for people to see it,” the producer shared of Pugh’s performance. “The scenes between [her] and Scarlett in this movie, that banter, and that new relationship, elevates both of them and the entire MCU.”
How excited are you to finally see Black Widow? You can catch the film in theaters and on Disney+ beginning July 9!
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