Marvel fans have known for quite a while that Marvel Studios was planning a solo movie for their longtime hero Natasha Romanoff, aka Black Widow. As the months went by, casting rumors started to surface on the news but it wasn’t until this Saturday (July 20) that official information about the upcoming movie was out there: “Black Widow”, by Australian director Cate Shortland will premiere on May 1st, 2020 and Florence has been confirmed to play spy and assassin Yelena Belova!

The president of Marvel Studios Kevin Feige confirmed that the film is set after the events of Captain America: Civil War (2016) and before Avengers: Infinity War (2018). He welcomed to the stage Florence, O-T Fagbenle (Mason), David Harbour (Alexei Shostakov/Red Guardian), Rachel Weisz (Melina Vostokoff) and Black Widow herself Scarlett Johansson. They briefly talked about being at Comic-Con – most of them were there for the first time, including Florence -, their characters and being a part of the MCU.

Hall H, the room famously known for holding the event’s biggest presentations, was packed with fans that were lucky enough to see a first look at the movie. Unfortunately, filming was not allowed but here’s a description of the footage, courtesy of Screenrant.

The footage opened with a look back at Black Widow’s journey so far in the MCU, with some of Natasha’s most famous lines of dialogue used as voiceover, including her line about red in her ledger. The new Black Widow footage starts with a shot of Budapest (with location text over the scene in a similar style to Captain America: Civil War). It then focuses in on Natasha in a small city circle, then walking up the stars of an apartment building. Nat pulls her gun when a voice calls through the door of an apartment, “I know you’re out there.” Nat responds, “I know you know I’m out here.”

Nat enters the apartment, there’s a brief shot of a room filled with spy gadgets. She eventually comes face to face with Yelena, they’re both holding they’re guns at each other in identical poses. Nat suggests they talk like grown ups and Yelena tells her to put her gun down first. They start to fight, using classic Black Widow moves, mimicking each other. The fight is absolutely brutal, with both Natasha and Yelena using every weapon at their disposal including dish rags and kitchen knives. The scene cuts to after their fight, Nat says, “It’s good to see you too, sis.”

The footage then features a sizzle reel of quick cuts to a variety of scenes, one of Nat running along a mountain ridge in training gear, a motorcycle chase in what appears to be Budapest, and a shot of what seemed to be a group of Black Widows in the classic black jumpsuit. At the end of the footage, Natasha is confronted by villain Taskmaster on a bridge. He has the character’s shield and mask from the comics, and he mimics all of her fighting moves, proving to be a formidable foe for Natasha.

Our gallery has been updated with all the photos from inside the panel. Enjoy!

After the presentation inside Hall H, Florence and the cast did some press around the event. They stopped by Entertainment Weekly’s studio to take some Portraits and give them an interview. Check out the video and links to our gallery below.

Later on, joining SDCC’s press room, Florence and co gave numerous interviews before they left the event to continue shooting the film in London.

“We’re making something that’s beautiful, sad, honest and cool. And it’s about these cool women and it’s exciting to be a part of it.”

“(The story) isn’t necessarily about passing on a mantle, it’s more about they were from the same project (…) they have been hurt in the same ways. And it’s about how they get up and how they fix themselves.”

Continue reading “Black Widow” officially announced at San Diego Comic-Con