We’re getting closer to Phase 4 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) kicking off with the release of Black Widow, and the second trailer for the film is now here. It’s full of action and our first good look at Taskmaster, who appears in a twisting fight sequence at the end of the trailer. The rest of it is filled with the Romanov family kicking ass and joking around, much like in the first trailer.
Considering the fact that Natasha Romanoff (Scarlett Johansson) died in Avengers: Endgame, it should be pretty obvious that this movie is a prequel, setting up the character’s run in the MCU that we’ve already seen. The movie introduces us to her family, including her sister, Florence Pugh’s Yelena Belova, and her father Red Guardian (David Harbour). In the comics, the former becomes the new Black Widow and the latter is basically a Russian Captain America. There’s plenty of speculation around Pugh picking up the mantle of Black Widow as the next wave of MCU movies hit.
Taskmaster is a relatively interesting villain who often plays as an anti-hero in the comics. It should be interesting to see how they use his ability to mimic the fighting styles and physical capabilities of his opponents, considering the wealth of well-trained assassins in this movie. That should definitely allow for some creative action sequences even if it does look like he’s going to suffer the unfortunate fate of most Marvel villains to simply come on screen to be defeated.
Black Widow will release on May 1, 2020 and is directed by Cate Shortland.
