‘Black Widow’: First Trailer Reveals Epic Russian Espionage

After her tragic demise in 2019’s “Avengers: Endgame,” many in the Marvel fan community wondered if Black Widow was still alive. The knowledge of the ex-Russian spy's upcoming standalone movie in phase 4 of the MCU ignited simultaneous interest and conspiracy. Will "Black Widow" take place after the events of “Endgame” or is her standalone film based solely in the past?

The all-new trailer, released Tuesday morning via Empire, proves it’s a bit of both. Occurring between the events of 2016’s “Captain America: Civil War” and 2018’s “Avengers: Infinity War,” “Black Widow” will drag Marvel fans down the dark and cruel past of Russian spy and Red Room graduate Natasha Romanoff, played by Scarlett Johansson.

“I’ve lived a lot of lives,” says Romanoff in the trailer. “But I’m done running from my past.”

The story will see the introduction of Russia’s own Captain America, Red Guardian, played by “Stranger Things” star David Harbour. Additional cast members include Florence Pugh playing Yelena Belova, yet another Red Room graduate, Rachel Weisz’s Melina Vostokoff, otherwise known as Iron Maiden in the comics, and Taskmaster, a ruthless mercenary who can learn his opponents’ moves on the fly.

The 24th MCU film will be directed by Australian filmmaker Cate Shortland and penned by Jac Schaeffer.

In an interview with Inverse, Schaeffer said, “The fighting [in Black Widow] is a lot of close contact, hand-to-hand combat. It’s very visceral. There’s a lot of aggression and power in a very human way that I find really satisfying and really exciting to watch, but it’s the polar opposite to writing for super-powered characters.”

Aside from the return of Johansson as the titular Russian spy, William Hurt’s Thaddeus Ross will be making a comeback following his brief appearance in “Endgame,” yet de-aged to fit the "Black Widow" timeline. Various rumors are also circulating that either Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.) or Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner) could make a surprise appearance, though they remain unconfirmed.

“Black Widow” debuts in theaters everywhere on May 1, 2020.