Production on the standalone Black Widow is unofficially underway in Saebo, Norway. Scarlett Johansson has been spotted on the long-awaited movie's set with her character's trademark red hair. The project has still yet to be officially announced by Marvel Studios, but work has quietly been going on behind-the-scenes in the developmental stage for over two years now. With that being said, Marvel Cinematic Universe fans have been waiting since Romanoff's debut in Iron Man 2 for a standalone movie.
The Black Widow set pictures are provided without context and show Natasha Romanoff appearing to be doing normal day-to-day things like visiting a drugstore and taking a ferry. Scarlett Johansson is the only one who has been spotted on the set as of this writing. However, as the production gets further along, we should see some more cast members and get a better idea for what is going on in the mysterious project. For now, it is unclear when the movie is taking place, other than the fact that it will have to be before Avengers: Endgame, for obvious reasons. The movie is going under the previously announced Blue Bayou working title.
Scarlett Johansson's hair is back to being Natasha Romanoff's trademark red color. There have been rumors about Black Widow taking place during the five year gap between Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame, but that is seemingly ruled out due to the hair color, unless the set photos are for a flashback scenario. Others believe the movie is going to be a true prequel going back to the origin story of Black Widow, while there has been speculation the MCU project will take place after the events of Captain America: Civil War.
Black Widow is being directed by Cate Shortland, who is now the first woman to solely direct a project for Marvel Studios. She is working from a screenplay Jac Schaeffer wrote. Schaeffer contributed to Captain Marvel in a role she has since called "script doctor." She was just happy to get her foot in the door with the MCU and was later given the Black Widow movie. Regardless, this will more than likely be the last time we see Scarlett Johansson on the big screen as Natasha Romanoff from the actress' previous comments about getting older and having the ability to tackle the physical aspects of the role, which is a sentiment echoed by her MCU co-stars Robert Downey Jr. and Chris Evans.
Black Widow does not have an official release date at this time, but it is believed Marvel Studios boss Kevin Feige will shed some more light on the MCU's Phase 4 this summer at San Diego Comic-Con and D23. Phase 4 is still a pretty big mystery, but it looks like Black Widow will be one of the first installments when the time comes. For now, MCU fans are waiting to see how Phase 3 will close when Spider-Man: Far From Home hits theaters in July. You can check out the Black Widow set photos below, thanks to the News Dome Twitter account.
Topics: Black Widow
Kevin Burwick