Marvel Studios has released a special sneak peek preview for its upcoming Black Widow movie. Although Thanos and the greater Infinity Saga are now officially behind it, the Marvel Cinematic Universe will begin Phase 4 by looking to the past with Natasha Romanoff’s long-overdue solo movie. Set between the events of Captain America: Civil War and Avengers: Infinity War, Black Widow has already come under criticism for arriving too late for its own good. With Endgame having sealed Natasha’s fate, the stakes are automatically lower for this film.

In spite of this, Marvel Studios head honcho Kevin Feige promises Black Widow will set up the future of the franchise, post-Endgame. The movie will further introduce a number of brand-new characters who could come back into play in upcoming films. That includes newly-minted Oscar nominee Florence Pugh as Yelena Belova, Natasha’s not-actual-sister and a fellow Red Room graduate. With interest already high in the film (it was ranked #2 on Fandango’s Most Anticipated Movies of 2020 survey), Marvel has gone and released some fresh material to help stoke the fires of anticipation.

The latest Black Widow promo premiered during the Clemson/LSU game tonight, and is now available to watch online. Check it out, below.

Arguably, the highlight of this “Special Look” is the footage from Natasha’s one-on-one fight with Taskmaster near the end. Marvel has been teasing the Black Widow vs. Taskmaster battle since San Diego Comic-Con last year, but this will be the first look at the character for the vast majority of people. Though Natasha refers to the villain as a him in this sneak preview, fans are theorizing Taskmaster is really her fellow Black Widow and mother-figure, Melina Vostokoff (Rachel Weisz). Either way, Scarlett Johansson’s Avenger on the run will have her hands full dealing with other Red Room assassins in the film. In addition to Yelena and Melina, there’s a clip here of Natasha taking on several Black Widows at once, all of them trained to kill like she was.

Despite being a prequel with a fixed outcome, Black Widow has the potential to give Natasha’s MCU story a better conclusion than Endgame. The whole movie is about the assassin-turned superhero confronting her past and making amends for her mistakes, but in a way that could be character-driven and satisfying, especially with Cate Shortland (Berlin Syndrome) directing. There are also some lingering MCU mysteries Black Widow can finally resolve and, in doing so, lay the foundation for important developments in Phase 4 and beyond. The film has a lot going for it in terms of the talent on both sides of the camera, so hopefully the actual plot will be worthy of them.

Source: Marvel Studios

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