Marvel Studios doesn’t really need the help, but they’re walking into their next movie on the back of some major awards prestige tailwind. The star of their next film, “Black Widow,” Scarlett Johansson just joined a very exclusive club: the 12th actor ever to receive two Oscar nominations for acting in the same year (Best Actress for “Marriage Story” and Best Supporting Actress for “Jojo Rabbit“). Johannson’s 2020 is already off to an amazing start and the rest is gravy from here (what a way to start a year). And to top it all off, revealed in a special look trailer teaser last night during the College Football National Championship Game, two-time Oscar-winning composer Alexandre Desplat is composing the score to the action-spy thriller. Since 2007, Desplat has been nominated eleven times for Best Score at the Oscars and just received his latest not for composing the score to Greta Gerwig‘s “Little Women.”
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If you’re unaware, and spoilers abound, now, you’ve been warned: but the Black Widow character was killed off in “Avengers: Endgame,” sacrificing her life so her friends, family, and team could live. “Black Widow,” set before that movie and occurring after the events of “Captain America: Civil War,” where she is a fugitive from the United States government and is on the run, finds this ex-assassin and spy back in Eastern Europe contending with her past and running into her old group of Russian spy friends and superheroes.
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Here’s the official synopsis:
In Marvel Studios’ action-packed spy thriller “Black Widow,” Natasha Romanoff aka Black Widow confronts the darker parts of her ledger when a dangerous conspiracy with ties to her past arises. Pursued by a force that will stop at nothing to bring her down, Natasha must deal with her history as a spy and the broken relationships left in her wake long before she became an Avenger. Scarlett Johansson reprises her role as Natasha/Black Widow, Florence Pugh stars as Yelena, David Harbour portrays Alexei/The Red Guardian, and Rachel Weisz is Melina. Directed by Cate Shortland and produced by Kevin Feige, “Black Widow”—the first film in Phase Four of the Marvel Cinematic Universe—hits U.S. theaters on May 1, 2020.
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Joining Johansson in “Black Widow” is Florence Pugh, David Harbour, Rachel Weisz, Ray Winstone, William Hurt playing secretary of State Thaddeus E. “Thunderbolt” Ross and O-T Fagbenle as the villain Taskmaster.
“Black Widow” is directed by Australian indie filmmaker Cate Shortland, known for “Somersault” and the thriller, “Berlin Syndrome.” The screenplay is credited to Jac Schaeffer, Ned Benson, and Eric Pearson. What surely hopes to be a fitting goodbye to the “Black Widow” character and wrestling and presumably reconciling her difficult, shady past as a killer, the Marvel movie hits theaters May 1. Watch the new special look video and featurette below.