‘Black Widow’ Director Cate Shortland Has Named The Film’s Inspirations And Its Comparisons To Another MCU Film

In a sign that nature is healing, tickets for Black Widow are now on sale, which marks the first time since Spider-Man: Far From Home‘s summer 2019 release that a Marvel movie will open in theaters. Obviously, that long of a break was not part of the MCU’s plan. Black Widow was originally slated for a May 2020 release, but the global pandemic threw the entire film industry into disarray causing year-long delays and production woes. However, theaters are starting to come back, and Black Widow will be a major part of that process as the film opens theaters in July. (It will also have a hybrid release on Disney+ with Premier Access because baby steps, people.)

To commemorate Black Widow tickets going on sales on Friday, Marvel provided Fandango with an exclusive clip, which you can see below:

— Erik Davis (@ErikDavis) June 11, 2021

The movie site also sat down with director Cate Shortland who shared which non-MCU films inspired Black Widow, and she named some interesting choices. She also confirmed that the film will definitely have strong Captain America: The Winter Soldier vibes, which fans were already picking up from the trailers. Via Fandango:

Cate Shortland: First, we looked at things like No Country for Old Men. And then we looked at things like Thelma and Louise. And the Marvel film — people that have seen it have said it reminds them of it — [is] Captain America: The Winter Soldier.

Fandango: Cool. What about it

Cate Shortland: It’s got great action. It’s got a lot of heart, it’s emotional. And at times, it can be a little bit dark, but then it opens up again. And it’s really exciting. So I think that’s like this film.

The film also marks the end of Scarlett Johansson’s time in the MCU as Natasha Romanoff. Although, she did leave the door slightly open for a possible return down the road, but for now, fans might expect to see Florence Pugh take over as The Avengers’ spy of choice going forward.

Black Widow hits theaters and Disney+ with Premier Access on July 9.