Marvel has finally released a first trailer for Avengers: Infinity War.
Fans have been clamoring for a dedicated Black Widow movie ever since Scarlett Johansson made her MCU debut as Natasha Romanoff in 2010's Avengers: Endgame, sacrificing herself in order to get the Soul Stone to the Avengers. Marvel has teased that Black Widow will explain just why Natasha had to die.
At last, Marvel has released the first Black Widow trailer. A lot of the shots were shown to audiences at San Diego Comic-Con, meaning the content is familiar and Marvel is simply firming up the discussion points. But there are still quite a few major takeaways. Here's our guide to the Black Widow trailer.
23. Welcome To Budapest
who can give Natasha a legacy.
22. This Could Be The Culmination Of Black Widow's Journey
This is followed by a succession of shots from previous Marvel movies, presenting key moments in Black Widow's MCU history. It's all accompanied by haunting dialogue lifted straight from Avengers: Endgame, which carefully positions this as the culmination of Natasha Romanoff's journey. Marvel want viewers to interpret this as the final adventure of the Black Widow, the narrative key to understanding her choices in Avengers: Endgame.
It further serves as a reminder that there's a sense in which Black Widow was the most emotionally committed member of the Avengers. The rest of the Avengers saw saving the world as a job that needed doing, but Natasha saw it as an opportunity to clear up the red in her ledger, and she came to understand the Avengers as a new family. Only one key Avengers relationship is missing; the ill-appreciated and awkward Avengers: Age of Ultron. Presumably Marvel don't want to remind viewers of that.
21. Black Widow's Own Marvel Studios Logo
The last couple of years have seen Marvel Studios become increasingly creative in their rendering of the company logo. It all began with a the aftermath of the snap. This time round, the Black Widow trailer shows an interesting dark-red logo that's placed inside a Black Widow hourglass shape. It's quite effective, and matches with the color scheme at the end of the trailer as well.
20. Black Widow on the Run
Black Widow is on the run from the authorities in the aftermath of Captain America: Civil War, which saw Natasha Romanoff branded a fugitive after she disobeyed orders and allowed Captain America and the Winter Soldier to escape. Marvel filmed these shots at Macon's Terminal Station, but it's designed to look like Albany in New York. The Black Widow trailer implies that this is the beginning of Black Widow's journey, but of course Marvel Studios is famous for misdirects.
19. William Hurt's Thunderbolt Ross Is Back
The Black Widow trailer confirms that William Hurt is back as General Thunderbolt Ross, but in a surprising role; he's clearly de-aged in this shot, which means he may have figured earlier in Black Widow's life and crops up in a flashback. Ironically, Ross will probably be leading the hunt for Natasha Romanoff in the present day, as he's the one in charge of enforcing the Sokovia Accords.
18. Introducing Yelena Belova
The Black Widow trailer introduces Inhumans comic, where she was a mysterious figure orchestrating an attack upon the Inhuman city of Attilan. It didn't take long for Marvel to confirm that Yelena was Natasha's successor in the Red Room program, and the two have clashed many times, with Natasha attempting to redeem the new Black Widow. It's never been clear which of the two women is the better agent; apparently Yelena's Red Room test scores were even higher than Natasha's, but Natasha has a lot more experience to draw upon.
17. Battle of the Black Widows
Black Widow's introduction of Yelena Belova feels stylistically similar to the popular and critically acclaimed spy drama Killing Eve, in which Jodie Comer plays the ruthless assassin Villanelle. Natasha and Yelena soon engage in a brief fight, a perfect way of demonstrating that they're perfectly matched. Their fighting styles are mirror-images of one another, confirming that they trained under the same masters and learned the same techniques.
16. Black Widow's New Costume
Black Widow sees Natasha don a new costume, previously seen in concept art distributed at D23. It's bulkier than Natasha Romanoff's traditional look, and feels more like combat armor of some kind. The straps could have been attached to some kind of parachute, given there appears to be a plane crash of some kind in the background. Aspects of the Black Widow movie appear to be lifted from Paul Cornell's Black Widow: Deadly Origin miniseries, which has traditionally served as the inspiration for Black Widow's MCU backstory. If that's the case, this may not be an ordinary plane crash; the miniseries opened with Natasha successfully capturing a stolen experimental aircraft.
15. The Black Widows Consider One Another A Family
The brief scrap comes to an end, and Natasha walks away with a sarcastic comment; "It's good to see you, too, sis." It's the first indication in this trailer that all the women trained by the Red Room consider one another as part of a family, looking out for one another, and that subtly recasts Natasha's defection to SHIELD years ago. No doubt she gave SHIELD a lot of valuable intel on the Red Room, meaning their bases, s, safe-houses, and standard operating procedures were all compromised. But the familial bond suggests the Black Widows would have also viewed this as a very personal betrayal - and Natasha may well have made a lot of enemies inside the program.
14. A Motorcycle Fight
The two Black Widows evidently agree to put their past behind them, and drive away on a motorcycle together. Black Widow has always been associated with motorcycles, both on the big screen and in the comics; she prefers them because they give her a degree of nimbleness and maneuverability that she uses to maximum effect. They also make for some pretty impressive stunts. This shot may lead into a major action sequence in which the Black Widows are pursued by Taskmaster in a tank.
