 |
| Image Source | BookRiot |
Black Widow Short Story
Black Widow is an upcoming American superhero film based on the Marvel Comics character of the same name. Produced by Marvel Studios and distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures, it is intended to be the twenty-fourth film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU).
The film was directed by Cate Shortland and written by Eric Pearson from a story by Jac Schaeffer and Ned Benson, and stars Scarlett Johansson as Natasha Romanoff / Black Widow alongside Florence Pugh, David Harbour, O-T Fagbenle, William Hurt, Ray Winstone, and Rachel Weisz. Set after Captain America: Civil War (2016), the film sees Romanoff on the run and forced to confront her past.
Development of a Black Widow film began in April 2004 by Lionsgate, with David Hayter attached to write and direct. The project did not move forward and the film rights to the character reverted to Marvel Studios by June 2006. Johansson was cast in the role of several MCU films beginning with Iron Man 2 (2010).
Marvel and Johansson expressed interest in a solo film several times over the following years before Schaeffer and Shortland were hired in 2018. Benson joined and further casting took place in early 2019. Filming took place from May to October, in Norway, Budapest, Morocco, Pinewood Studios in England, and in Atlanta and Macon, Georgia.
Black Widow is scheduled to be released in the United States on May 1, 2020.
In February 2004, Lionsgate acquired the film rights for Black Widow, and in April announced David Hayter as writer and director of the film, with Marvel Studios' Avi Arad producing. By June 2006, Lionsgate had dropped the project and the rights reverted to Marvel Studios.
Hayter and Marvel tried getting another financier to develop the project, but Hayter "never felt comfortable that we had found a place that was willing to take the movie, and the character, seriously." This left Hayter "heartbroken", but he hoped the film would be made "someday".
In January 2009, Marvel entered early talks with Emily Blunt to play Black Widow in Iron Man 2, though she was unable to take the role due to a previous commitment to star in Gulliver's Travels. In March 2009, Scarlett Johansson signed on to play Natasha Romanoff / Black Widow, with her deal including options for multiple films.
In September 2010, while promoting the home media release of Iron Man 2, Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige stated that discussions with Johansson had already taken place regarding a Black Widow standalone film, but that Marvel's focus was on 2012's The Avengers. Johansson appeared in that film as the character, as well as 2014's Captain America: The Winter Soldier, 2015's Avengers: Age of Ultron, 2016's Captain America.
Civil War, 2018's Avengers: Infinity War, and 2019's Avengers: Endgame. After the release of Age of Ultron, Johansson revealed that the number of films on her contract had been adjusted since she first signed to match the "demand of the character", as Marvel had not anticipated the audience's "great reaction" to the character and her performance.
In February 2014, Feige stated that after exploring Black Widow's past in Age of Ultron, he would like to see it explored further in a solo film, which already had development work done for it, including a "pretty in-depth" treatment by Nicole Perlman, who co-wrote Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy (2014).
The following April, Johansson expressed interest in starring in a Black Widow film and said that it would be driven by demand from the audience. That July, Hayter expressed interest in reviving the project for Marvel, and the following month, director Neil Marshall stated that he "would love to do a Black Widow film," saying he felt the character was "really interesting [given] she doesn't have any superpowers, she just has extraordinary skills, and the world that she comes from, being this ex-K.G.B. assassin, I find that really fascinating.
In April 2015, Johansson spoke more on the possibility of a solo Black Widow film, seeing the potential to explore the different "layers" of her depicted in the different films so far, but also stating that "right now I think this character is used well in this part of the universe". While promoting Captain America:
Civil War the next April, Feige noted that due to the announced schedule of films, any potential Black Widow film would be four or five years away. He added that Marvel was "creatively and emotionally" committed to making a Black Widow film eventually.
In July 2016, Joss Whedon, the director of The Avengers and Avengers: Age of Ultron, stated that he was open to directing a Black Widow film, feeling he could make "a spy thriller. Like really do a good, paranoid, 'John le Carré on crack' sort of thing. In October, Johansson discussed the potential film being a prequel, saying, "you can bring it back to Russia. You could explore the Widow program. There are all kinds of stuff that you could do with it."
She did caution she may not want to "wear a skin-tight catsuit" for much longer. The next February, Johansson said that she would dedicate herself to making any potential Black Widow film "amazing. It would have to be the best version that the movie could possibly be. Otherwise, I would never do it
it would] have to be it is own standalone and its own style and its own story." Due to the development work is already done, and the public support for a Black Widow film, Marvel ultimately decided that the "best time to move forward with the project" would be at the beginning of the "latest phase" of the MCU in 2020.
In October 2017, Feige met with Johansson to discuss the direction of a potential solo film, before Marvel began meeting with writers for the project, including Jac Schaeffer. Schaeffer met with Feige again in December and was hired to write a script for the film before the end of 2017. Schaeffer and Johansson were set to discuss the direction of the film at the beginning of February 2018.
Marvel began meeting with female directors to potentially take on the project, part of a priority push by major film studios to hire female directors for franchises. By the end of April, the studio had met with over 65 directors for the project in an "extremely thorough" search, including Deniz Gamze Ergüven, Chloé Zhao—who was eventually chosen to direct Marvel's The Eternals
Amma Asante, and Lynn Shelton. In the following months, this was reduced to a shortlist of 49 directors before the top choices of Cate Shortland, Asante, and Maggie Betts met with Feige and Johansson in June. Mélanie Laurent and Kimberly Peirce were also in the "next-to-final mix". Shortland had the backing of Johansson, a fan of the director's previous female-starring film Lore (2012), and was hired the next month.
The Hollywood Reporter reported in October 2018 that Johansson would earn $15 million for the film, an increase from the "low-seven figure salary" that she earned for starring in The Avengers. $15 million is what Chris Evans and Chris Hemsworth each earned for the third films in their MCU franchises—Civil War and Thor: Ragnarok (2017), respectively. The pair also earned that amount for co-starring in Infinity War and Endgame.
Despite The Hollywood Reporter confirming these amounts with "multiple knowledgeable sources" for their report, Marvel Studios disputed the accuracy of the numbers and said that they "never publicly disclose salaries or deal terms."
Black Widow Cast
- Scarlett Johansson as Natasha Romanoff / Black Widow:
- A highly trained former-KGB assassin, an agent of S.H.I.E.L.D., and a member of the Avengers. Johansson described the film as an opportunity to show the character as "a woman who has come into her own and is making independent and active choices for herself" while being in a "dark place where she's got no one to call and nowhere to go.
- Florence Pugh as Yelena Belova / Black Widow: A sister-figure to Romanoff who trained in the Red Room as a Black Widow.
- David Harbour as Alexei Shostakov / Red Guardian:
- The Russian super-soldier counterpart to Captain America who has a history with Romanoff. Harbour said that Shostakov was "a bit of a fatherly figure" to Romanoff and that he "has tons of cracks all over him. And he’s not the heroic, nobleman that [people] want him to be. He both comically and tragically has a lot of flaws".
- O.T. Fagbenle as Rick Mason: An ally from Romanoff's S.H.I.E.L.D. past who is romantically interested in her.
- William Hurt as Thaddeus Ross: The United States Secretary of State and a former U.S. Army general.
- Ray Winstone
- Rachel Weisz as Melina Vostokoff / Black Widow: A seasoned spy trained in the Red Room as a Black Widow who is involved in a scientific experiment.
- Additionally, Olivier Richters has been cast in an undisclosed role. The character Taskmaster will be featured in the film. Robert Downey Jr. appears in his MCU role as Tony Stark / Iron Man.
Black Widow Trailer
Black Widow Release Date
Black Widow is scheduled for release in the United States on May 1, 2020. It will be released in IMAX.
Black Widow Music
Alexandre Desplat was revealed to be composing the music for the film in January 2020
Black Widow Review
Coming Soon
Article Source: Wikipedia
Post a Comment