Over a week ago, Marvel Studios chief Kevin Feige unleashed a dump truck of Phase 4 information so massive that bits and pieces are still bubbling to the surface. Some of those chunks have to do with Budapest references in the Black Widow standalone prequel (will we see Hawkeye, perhaps?), but others have to do with Feige’s promise that Phase 4 will put new spins on these comic-book adaptations that will be truly unexpected. And although Marvel Studios’ talent rarely drops major tidbits during interviews, it seems like Rachel Weisz was allowed to let loose to some degree.
In a video interview with IGN (via Comic Book) Weisz revealed that multiple characters in the movie will be referred to as Black Widow assassins. That includes her character, Melina Vostokoff, as well Florence Pugh’s character, Yelena Belova, and of course, Scarlett Johansson’s Natasha Romanoff. As stated by Weisz:
“There are quite a number [of them. I’m a Black Widow and Scarlet and Florence [Pugh]. There are quite a lot of other characters that you meet who are also Black Widows. I call tell you that Melina has been cycled through the Black Widow Red Room program by the time the film starts. She started being cycled through when she was a child and so, she’s a highly accomplished spy and assassin. But I can’t tell you her relationship to anyone else.”
For what it’s worth (and that worth is debatable), there’s also a fan theory out there that paints Weisz’s character as actually being the Taskmaster, who was confirmed as the movie’s villain in concept art featured at Comic-Con. Weisz as the Taskmaster seems unlikely, yet one never knows what tricks the MCU will have up its sleeve in its quest to be less predictable. No matter who the Taskmaster is, the character will be a formidable opponent, given that his (or her) photographic reflexes lead to mimicking maneuvers during physical conflicts. In other words, the Taskmaster won’t be easy to defeat.
Johansson seemed to hint at this inevitability while recently speaking with CNN about the prequel’s fight scenes, which are more intense than she’s experienced in previous Marvel movies. She did add that, “I’m older now … So everything hurts. It’s harder!” Scarlett’s only 34 years old, so it sounds like the battles must be brutal in this standalone movie. Hopefully a trailer will surface soonish, but probably not for awhile, since Black Widow (which will also star Strangers Thing‘ David Harbour) is scheduled for a May 1, 2020 release.
(Via IGN, Comic Book & CNN)