Phase Four of the Marvel Cinematic Universe promises to be far different from anything else we’ve seen in the franchise, with entries like the kung fu movie Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings and the avant-garde Eternals. And the phase’s differences even extend to the supposedly safest entry of the bunch, Black Widow, as the spy thriller is set to have a level and style of violence previously unseen in the family-friendly franchise.
The film’s co-writer, Jac Schaeffer, sat down with Inverse and dished on what fans can expect from the upcoming prequel’s fight scenes. And it sounds like Natasha Romanoff is in for some pretty brutal battles. “The fighting [in Black Widow] is a lot of close contact, hand-to-hand combat,” Schaeffer said. “It’s very visceral. There’s a lot of aggression and power in a very human way that I find really satisfying and really exciting to watch, but it’s the polar opposite to writing for super-powered characters.”
It sounds like the movie will feature lots of Jason Bourne-esque fight scenes, which is great, but don’t expect too much gunplay in the mix. “I would like to see alternatives to violence in superhero movies. Maybe I would qualify that by saying, alternatives to glamorizing guns and weaponry,” Schaeffer added. “That’s one of the reasons that I love Captain Marvel — it’s all about inner power. And the destruction is not at the expense of human life.”
Not much is known about the Black Widow film, other than that it takes place between the events of Captain America: Civil War and Avengers: Infinity War. Black Widow will be facing off against the supervillain Taskmaster in the film, a fan-favorite from the comics who wears a skull mask and has the ability to mimic his opponents fighting moves in real-time — a trait that should make for some excellent fight choreography.
Black Widow will fight its way into theaters on May 1, 2020.
