There are less than two months until the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s Black Widow finally arrives fourteen months behind schedule, as the first of the all-conquering franchise’s blockbusters to score a hybrid release. Natasha Romanoff’s long-awaited solo debut comes to theaters and Disney Plus Premier Access on July 9th, and it’ll be curious to discover how well it performs at the box office.
The Incredible Hulk has remained the lowest-grossing entry in the series since it was released in the summer of 2008, but despite being made available to fans from the comfort of their own homes on day one, Black Widow should still easily sail past the big green guy’s $264 million haul, especially if it keeps up the MCU’s strong track record of success in China and encourages domestic audiences to head back to their local multiplex in great numbers given the brand’s popularity all over the world.
WandaVision and The Falcon and the Winter Soldier may be over now, but Scarlett Johansson’s swansong finally kicks off the feature-length Phase Four slate at long last, and we already know that Julia Louis-Dreyfus’ Contessa Valentina Allegra de la Fontaine shot scenes for the movie over a year ago, but it’s not been made clear whether she’s been cut after debuting on the small screen instead.
In any case, Black Widow isn’t promising to reinvent the MCU wheel, but based on the trailers so far and now this new clip, it does look as though it’ll deliver a fitting farewell to one of the franchise’s longest-tenured and most popular supporting characters, while also setting up some big story points for the future, not least of all Florence Pugh’s Yelena Belova, who’s poised to take up the mantle and has already been confirmed for a supporting role in Hawkeye.