When cinemas reopen and the movie business is able to get back on its feet, the Marvel Cinematic Universe will be ready to propel itself into the long-awaited Phase 4 – taking the superhero saga into an exciting post-Avengers: Endgame world. And the film to kick it all off is Black Widow, Scarlett Johansson’s overdue solo adventure, which will launch the franchise into its future by looking back into its past. Speaking to Empire for the upcoming Big-Screen Preview issue – on sale Thurs 9 July – director Cate Shortland spoke about that interesting dichotomy, hinting that while Black Widow is a last hurrah for Johansson, things are only just beginning for Florence Pugh’s incoming Yelena.

“[Kevin Feige] realised that the audience would expect an origin story so, of course, we went in the opposite direction,” Shortland tells Empire. “And we didn’t know how great Florence Pugh would be. We knew she would be great, but we didn’t know how great. Scarlett is so gracious, like, ‘Oh, I’m handing her the baton.’ So it’s going to propel another female storyline.”

If it sounds, then, that Black Widow will tee up more to come from Pugh’s Yelena, it will also be a chance for the audience to fully process Natasha’s tragic sacrifice on Vormir. “In Endgame, the fans were upset that Natasha did not have a funeral. Whereas Scarlett, when I spoke to her about it, said Natasha wouldn’t have wanted a funeral,” explains Shortland. “She’s too private, and anyway, people don’t really know who she is. So what we did in this film was allow the ending to be the grief the individuals felt, rather than a big public outpouring. I think that’s a fitting ending for her.”

Sources