Feels like Winter Soldier

I should probably stop being surprised when Marvel Studios drops a damn-near perfect trailer. They have mastered the art of delivering rip-roaring action, underpinned by enticing plot clues without giving the game away and wrapping it all up with a kick-ass score to get your movie theatre seat rocking.

The final trailer for Black Widow continues this rich tradition in each and every aspect.

What contributes to our sustained interest in the MCU – besides the unprecedented cinematic cohesion between the movies – is the fact that the MCU is able to transcend genres. Much like Captain America: The Winter Solider, this looks like a spy action thriller and in total contrast to the colourful fantasy of Guardians of the Galaxy or the ‘diary of a teenager’ themes of the Spider-Man entries.

And a Winter Soldier comparison is one that will definitely put bums on seats for Black Widow‘s May 1 launch. The Winter Soldier was one of Marvel Studios’ most technically brilliant concoctions, catapulting directing duo the Russo Brothers into the hotseats for Civil War, Infinity War and Endgame.

Black Widow may feel like The Winter Soldier both thematically and in tone, but the unique quirk of villain Taskmaster in that he basically robs each Avenger of their combat IP looks like it will make this movie distinguishable from anything we’ve seen before. Taskmaster is a known unknown and at least from the elevator pitch is set to be one of the more intriguing villains.

Critics would level that a Black Widow movie is an odd choice given that Natasha Romanoff yeeted off a Vormir cliff in order to retrieve the soul stone in Endgame. The character’s near 10 year arc has already been tied up – why release a movie to chart her time between Civil War and Infinity War?

Well, that’s the intrigue. At this point, Kevin Feige is just about the safest pair of hands in the business when it comes to laying out a long term narrative strategy. This film will undoubtedly serve some purpose in moving the overall MCU story forward.

My guess based on the contents of this trailer is that Natasha’s sister Yelena Belova (Florence Pugh) will have a Black Widow sized contribution to the MCU going forward. This will act as her origin story.

Perhaps Taskmaster is also hiding a twist behind the mask, as we are still yet to see his face. Will that be a future-shaping reveal in itself?