Black Widow Movie May Feature An Even Younger Natasha

Natasha Romanoff has come an awful long way since she was first introduced in 2010’s Iron Man 2.

From alien armies (see: the Chitauri) to Earth’s Mightiest Heroes, ScarJo’s secret agent has done it all. But later this year, the long-anticipated Black Widow solo movie will wind back the clock to explore the formative years of one Natasha Romanoff.

News of a young Natasha was confirmed some months ago, but during last night’s Oscar ceremony, Variety (h/t ComicBook.com) caught up with Paul Gooch and David White, the hair and makeup duo responsible for Maleficent: Mistress of Evil, to discuss what comes next for Black Widow.

The early years, it seems, after Gooch told Variety that this year’s Black Widow movie will flash back to MCU past, when Natasha Romanoff was “much younger.”

Well we’re going back in time to when they’re much younger. And we have actors playing even younger than they [Scarlett Johansson and Florence Pugh] are, the same characters type of thing. And we’re in different countries… there’s all sorts of in it. You can see some of it in the trailer that’s out now.

So, yes, we can take this one to the bank. Come May, the standalone Black Widow movie will devote some screentime to the younger versions of both Scarlett Johansson’s Natasha Romanoff and Florence Pugh’s Yelena Belova, as director Cate Shortland paints the MCU against the backdrop of the Soviet Union – before and after its collapse.

Whether Scarlett Johansson will extend her working relationship with Marvel Studios beyond 2020 is still up for debate, but whatever the outcome, this has been one helluva journey for Natasha Romanoff, and if Black Widow really is to be her swan song, we’re hoping Shortland and her team deliver a fitting send-off for ScarJo’s Avenger.