Production is finally in full swing for Marvel's upcoming Black Widow movie prequel starring Scarlett Johansson. Under the working title Blue Bayou, set photos of the actress as the spy Natasha Romanoff made its way online this week, much to the excitement of Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) fans.
According to Daily Express, Johansson was spotted walking and rehearsing on the set in Norway with her character's unmistakable trademark fiery red hair. Speculations are that the star's features will be digitally altered to make Natasha look younger.
Since Black Widow died in the last moments of Avengers: Endgame, fans believe that this solo movie will be an origin story. However, there are also speculations that the film could take an alternate timeline where the character is still alive after the Avengers successfully defeated Thanos.
Details to the Black Widow movie have been a well-kept secret. Rumors, however, suggest that Blue Bayou may be about her time as a KGB secret agent leading up to the end of the Soviet Union.
Black Widow's debut in the MCU wasn't until 2010. Thus, there will be plenty of stories to cover for her character from the time she trained to become an agent right out of teens, and before she became an Avenger.
MCU director Joe Russo also teased via Comic Book that the Black Widow film could tackle how Natasha met Hawkeye (played by Jeremy Renner). Russo said that they had discussed the Budapest storyline since the first Avengers movie, but they still don't know how to play out the scenes.
"It's putting seeds in to fulfill our story, and that's what we do in the Marvel Universe is someone comes in and they pick up the threads, right, but there isn't, the grand plan is always 'we have a loose idea of where we can go here'," Russo said. "But if you spend a lot of energy thinking about where it goes in the future, you're gonna miss the opportunities that are in front of you in the present."
Meanwhile, joining Johansson in the Black Widow movie are David Harbour, Rachel Weisz and Florence Pugh in undisclosed roles, as per Slash Film. Cate Shortland, on the other hand, has been tasked to direct from a script written by Captain Marvel scribe Jac Schaeffer.
Marvel has planned the Black Widow movie for either a May or a November release in 2020. The studio, however, hasn't confirmed any release date as of press time.
