MARVEL MARATHON DEEP DIVE
BLACK
WIDOW
Black Widow reached cinemas and Disney+ Premier Access on 9 July 2021, more than a year after its first release date. Cate Shortland directed Scarlett Johansson’s solo film set between Civil War and Infinity War.
A SOLO FILM YEARS IN COMING
HOW BLACK WIDOW REACHED THE SCREEN
Kevin Feige first said in February 2014 that he wanted a solo Black Widow film. Jac Schaeffer was hired to write the screenplay by the end of 2017, and Cate Shortland was hired to direct in July 2018. Ned Benson rewrote the script in February 2019, and Eric Pearson became sole screenwriter, with Schaeffer and Benson credited on the story. The film was officially announced at San Diego Comic-Con in 2019.
Shortland explained on 22 June 2021 why the timing felt right: “I think fans deserve this movie.” She said of Natasha, “She’s broken, she’s raw and she has to go through this journey.”
NORWAY, BUDAPEST AND MOROCCO
HOW THE FILM WAS SHOT
Principal photography began on 28 May 2019 in Norway, lasted 87 days and wrapped on 6 October 2019, with locations including Surrey, Pinewood Studios, Budapest, Morocco and Georgia. The budget was $288.5 million, and Lorne Balfe composed the score, replacing Alexandre Desplat.
Shortland said she wanted something “really intimate where we could explore the intricacies of Natasha’s relationships,” and that she worked with a Russian historian in London “who was the same age as Scarlett.”
A FAMILY OF FORMER SPIES
WHO IS IN THE CAST
Scarlett Johansson plays Natasha Romanoff and Florence Pugh plays Yelena Belova, with David Harbour, Rachel Weisz, O-T Fagbenle, Olga Kurylenko, William Hurt and Ray Winstone. Shortland said Yelena “had to be a free spirit.” In a post-credits scene, Julia Louis-Dreyfus’s Valentina Allegra de Fontaine appears.
THREE DELAYS AND A HYBRID RELEASE
HOW THE FILM WAS RELEASED AND WHAT IT EARNED
The film was first dated 1 May 2020, then removed from the schedule in March 2020 because of COVID-19, moved to 6 November 2020, then 7 May 2021 and finally 9 July 2021. It premiered on 29 June 2021 and opened in cinemas and on Disney+ with Premier Access, priced at $30. It opened to $80,366,312 in the US and went on to earn $379.8 million worldwide, of which $183.7 million came from the US. Disney reported $67 million from Premier Access worldwide in the opening weekend.
Scarlett Johansson sued Disney in Los Angeles County Superior Court in July 2021, alleging the simultaneous release breached her contract and cost her box-office bonuses, and Disney called the suit without “merit whatsoever.” The case settled about a month after Disney moved to send it to arbitration, on undisclosed terms.
THE REWATCH
A 79% CRITICS SCORE AND AN A- FROM AUDIENCES
Rotten Tomatoes lists a 79% critics’ score from 463 reviews and a 91% audience score, and its consensus calls the film “a solidly entertaining standalone adventure.” Metacritic gives it 68 from 58 critics, and audiences polled by CinemaScore gave it an A-.
In the Marvel Marathon it sits in the MCU release order guide between Loki Season 1 and Deadpool and Korg React, and in the MCU movies in order guide between Spider-Man: Far From Home and Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings. In the Marvel movies in release order guide it sits between The New Mutants and Shang-Chi. In the MCU timeline guide it comes between Captain America: Civil War and Black Panther.
QUICK ANSWERS
BLACK WIDOW WATCH QUESTIONS
Where does Black Widow fit in the MCU story?
It is set between Captain America: Civil War and Avengers: Infinity War, as the Marvel Marathon timeline guide places it, though it was released after Avengers: Endgame.
Why was Black Widow delayed?
It was removed from its 1 May 2020 date because of COVID-19 and moved three times before opening on 9 July 2021.
Was Black Widow released on Disney+?
Yes, on 9 July 2021 it opened in cinemas and on Disney+ with Premier Access at $30. Scarlett Johansson sued over the simultaneous release, and the case settled on undisclosed terms.
Which Marvel Marathon guides include Black Widow?
It appears in the MCU release order, MCU movies in order, Marvel movies in release order and MCU timeline guides. In the timeline it sits between Captain America: Civil War and Black Panther.
EDITORIAL NOTES
SOURCES AND UPDATES
Development, production, release, box-office and reception details are checked against a film reference, interviews with the director, box-office data and aggregator scores, cited individually below.