While conspiracies float around the internet about what the upcoming Black Widow will entail (with tickets on sale now), there’s one thing — just one — that won’t necessarily keep fans guessing: just how badass the women in this movie actually are. In the female-led film, starring Scarlett Johansson in the title role, Florence Pugh, and directed by Cate Shortland, fans will see a powerful evolution of Natasha, her dynamic with “sister” Yelena (Pugh), hardcore (and hard-earned) fight scenes, and maybe even some inspiration from fellow female action flicks.
Set in the aftermath of Captain America: Civil War, audiences will get a glimpse into Natasha’s life outside of the Avengers and explore the familial bond she has with her fellow spy sis Yelena. Fandango was part of a group of journalists who visited Marvel’s larger-than-line movie set in London where we sat down with the blockbuster’s leading ladies and learned all about how Black Widow will make the “girl power” you thought you knew seem like child’s play.
Yelena the Rockstar
Add another quick, no-nonsense, butt-kicking lady to Marvel’s roster. Donned head-to-toe in costume, Pugh explained to reporters what she admires about her character, which is being introduced to the MCU film world for the first time. “What I like about Yelena is that there is no message. There's no bells and whistles with her,” the actress explained. “She kind of gets the job done. And whether that's fighting someone or verbally abusing someone, it's all pretty straightforward. And I've loved playing with her, she's ready to fight. Whether it's argument or physical, there's no stopping her.” Words of advice: look out.
Hands-On Stunts
Believe it or not, Pugh called the stunts her favorite part of filming. “Actually, the stunt team was so excited when you want to do more. They really, really want you to do as much as possible,” she said. “So within the first two weeks of getting the job, I was in the warehouse learning how to kick box from one of the best kick boxers around, and it's amazing how much they want you to enjoy and do — and they will create fights that you are capable of doing if you're up for it.” And you better believe when it came to throwing down the action, she learned from the best. (See below re: Hugh and Johansson’s kitchen fight scene.)
A Realistic Female Dynamic
According to Johansson, Black Widow purposefully dodges tired tropes when it comes to showcasing female relationships on screen — especially because of the addition of Yelena. “The story of two women competing against one another and trying to take each other down and sort of dethrone one another felt, like, not interesting… it just felt very old fashioned and not true,” the actress explained, sitting casually in her iconic BW costume. Because Natasha and Yelena go through the same training program, they are “grounded in a shared experience and knowledges and sisterhood, and with that comes many complicated feelings,” Johansson said. Pugh explained Yelena’s relationship with Natasha as a “confusing, bratty, emotional, sister relationship — [she’s] exactly what you'd expect a younger sister to be like.” And the two click and clash. Johansson admitted not all of their feelings are “good, fuzzy ones” and Pugh added, “Yelena is deeply annoying, and pretty much takes a nick out of everything Natasha does. But fundamentally, they have a very unique and strong relationship that drives them through the film.”
A Deeper Bond and Message
Despite their differences, Yelena and Natasha share experiences and traumas that run deep and allow them to connect on a significant level. Johansson is confident that they’ll convey a bond that will be “very touching for a lot of people.” The actress said: “I have a lot of empathy for that relationship — and both of those characters' history and trauma, as dark as it is, is what brings them together and there's a lot of love between them, but their relationship is also contentious.” Perhaps their bond will resonate with female viewers from all walks of life. “That's one of the heartbreaks about this film is that it's essentially about women that have been abused, whether it's about a system or whether it's about physical abuse, they've all been in some way trapped,” Johansson added. “I think this film is the realization of the life that was taken from them. And that's how Natasha and Yelena start repairing.”
The Sexual Evolution of Black Widow
Natasha has come quite a way from her early days in the MCU. While she isn’t nearly as sexualized as she was in the earlier films, Johansson explained how the evolution of her beloved character was a process in her personal life that’s ultimately reflected on screen. “I'll be 35 years old, and I'm a mom, and my life is different,” the actress said, remarking thoughtfully on the topic. “I have a much different, more evolved understanding of myself as a woman. I'm in a different place in my life. I feel more forgiving of myself as a woman — I’m more accepting of myself, I think. And all of that is related to that move away from the kind of hyper-sexualization of this character.”
Still, the leading actress has no regrets while acknowledging the journey her character’s been on. “You look back at Iron Man 2 and while it was really fun and had a lot of great moments in it, the character is like so sexualized — really talked about like she's like a piece of something and like a possession,” she recalled. “Maybe at that time, that actually felt like a compliment. You know what I mean? Because my thinking was different. My own self-worth was probably measured against that type of comment, like a lot of young women would probably feel.” In hindsight, the development of Natasha, and her real self, is something Johansson can be proud of. “You come into your own and you understand your own self worth now. It's changing now, I think a lot of young girls are getting like a much more positive message. But it's really, it's been incredible to be a part of that shift and to be able to come out the other side and not just be a part of that old story, but actually progress and evolve. It's pretty cool.”
A New Side of Natasha
Although Natasha met her untimely fate in Endgame, flashing back and putting the spotlight on her life will open fans’ eyes to even more dimensions of the character. Audiences will see Natasha on her own for the very first time. “She's always worked for someone, she's always been a part of some operation and she's always had some safety net. She's actually never really had to, for better or worse, make any decisions for herself,” Johansson explained. “She's part of this greater whole and whether it was the Red Room or S.H.I.E.L.D. or the Avengers, and then after Civil War, it's all gone, everything is gone and she’s, for the first time ever, really just on her own… suddenly like floating, feeling like a fugitive.” Not only is this an interesting place for Natasha to start in the film, but for her overall story. “How do we connect everything back together and that at the end of this film, and when you find her in the beginning of the film, she's just broken. And by the end of the film, the goal, is to put her back together, but different than before,” the actress revealed.
Inspiration from a Classic
Pugh got her hands dirty in performing a lot of her own stunts, and she admitted her muse — one that many movie goers would appreciate. “I grew up on Charlie's Angels. And I know that there is no similarity between this and that at all,” she acknowledged. But watching the famed trio take charge on screen gave Pugh the juice she needed to carry out action of her own. “The very fact that coming into this, I was like, ‘Yeah! I get to be a girl and do high kicks!’ And actually one of Yelena's kind of strengths is the fact that she does really good high kicks.”
The Vision of Cate Shortland
When it comes to women, maybe it takes one to know one. And with director Cate Shortland at the helm, Johansson is that much more proud and optimistic about the production the team has created. “It's been an interesting evolution and it's been interesting to discover it with each director that I've worked with and what they see what they're interested in and what side [of Natasha] they want to uncover,” the actor explained. “With Cate, it's just been so liberating, because she is not afraid of any of the ugliness or what is perceived to be ugliness — you know, the embarrassing uncomfortable parts, like the soft underbelly, all that. That's what she wants to make movies about.” Underbelly and all, Shortland is perhaps going to bring fans the most accessible and humanized Natasha yet. “I hope you see Natasha in her real true strength in this film more than ever before. I think Cate will bring that out.”
The Off-Camera Camaraderie
While it could be intimidating for a newcomer to join the epic MCU, Pugh was lucky enough to have a mentor in seasoned vet Scarlett Johansson. “I've never been on a film this scale — I don't think anyone has other than, you know, all the superheroes, but it's incredibly daunting coming up to this. What prep should you be doing in your own time? What is the prep that Marvel are expecting you to do? How physical are the roles? And that was something that I definitely had no idea what they were going to expect from me,” Pugh revealed. But Johansson took her under her wing in a bond that permeated off-screen. “Scarlett was super helpful with all of that, and just sitting there and listening to what she said about the last nine years of her career in this Marvel universe.” And of course, Pugh showed off what she learned. “To actually get to be in there and really shoving Scarlett Johansson against the kitchen counter, which was the first day that I ever worked with her, I was like, ‘Hi, I'm gonna beat you now!’ But it was great and we we fell in love during that fight because it was just so messy and it's cool.”
For more on Black Widow, check out our interview with director Cate Shortland here.
Watch the final trailer below.
