50 Fun Facts About Black Widow (2021 Film)

Black Widow is which numbered film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe?

It was also the first film of Phase Four, though its pandemic delays meant WandaVision and other Disney+ series arrived first.

Who directed Black Widow?

Johansson, a fan of her film Lore, approached her personally after Marvel had met more than 65 directors for the job.

Between which two MCU films is Black Widow mostly set?

Kevin Feige avoided an origin story, citing Better Call Saul as the model for a prequel that stands on its own.

In the 1995 prologue, in which US state is Natasha's fake family living undercover?

The 'family' steals S.H.I.E.L.D. intel and flees to Cuba, where General Dreykov sends both girls to the Red Room.

Who plays Yelena Belova?

Marvel had considered her since late 2018, looked at others including Saoirse Ronan, then came back after her reviews for Fighting with My Family.

Which actress passed on the role of Yelena before it was finally cast?

Marvel had begun looking at other actresses in early 2019 before returning to Pugh.

David Harbour plays Alexei Shostakov, better known by which superhero name?

He gained weight to 280 pounds for the role and then lost 60 over the shoot to play the younger Alexei of the flashback.

Which Oscar-winning actress plays Melina Vostokoff, the mother figure and Red Room scientist?

In the comics Melina becomes the villain Iron Maiden, a storyline Weisz has said she would like to play.

Who plays General Dreykov, head of the Red Room?

He disliked the reshoots so much that he asked to be recast, but was contractually obliged to return.

Who is revealed to be under Taskmaster's mask?

Writer Eric Pearson tied Taskmaster to the 'Dreykov's daughter' line from The Avengers rather than using the comics' Tony Masters.

Which former Bond girl plays Antonia Dreykov / Taskmaster?

Her identity was kept secret until release; several body doubles were needed to perform Taskmaster's mimicked fighting styles.

How does Natasha overcome the pheromone lock that stops any Widow from attacking Dreykov?

Ray Winstone's Dreykov was written as a coward 'puppeteering things' from the shadows so the villain would not contradict Infinity War.

What is the Red Room, physically, in the film?

Digital Domain built it as an airborne fortress hidden in the clouds, inspired by Soviet brutalist architecture.

Which city did Natasha and Clint Barton bomb years earlier, an event first hinted at in The Avengers?

The film reveals they used Dreykov's young daughter as bait and believed she died in the blast, the shame Natasha carries.

Who supplies Natasha with a safehouse in Scandinavia and, later, a Quinjet?

O-T Fagbenle had actually auditioned for the original Taskmaster before the story changed and Marvel offered him this role instead.

Who visits Yelena at Natasha's grave in the post-credits scene?

She blames Clint Barton for Natasha's death and assigns him as Yelena's next target, setting up the Hawkeye series.

Which Seinfeld and Veep star plays the woman at the graveside in that uncredited cameo?

She was meant to debut in Black Widow, but the delays meant The Falcon and the Winter Soldier introduced her first, the only Phase Four change forced by the pandemic.

Which television series about a Russian spy family inspired the film's central premise?

Shortland and Johansson borrowed the idea of a spy 'family', which is why the pivotal scene is everyone reunited around a dining table.

Which writer received sole screenplay credit?

Schaeffer and Benson got story credits; Pearson found the film's place in the MCU timeline the hardest he had ever had to get right.

Which future She-Hulk head writer pitched a Black Widow film inspired by Grosse Pointe Blank?

Her version had Natasha planted in a high school to kill a target and returning 20 years later for the reunion; Marvel felt it was really a She-Hulk pitch.

Which studio first bought the Black Widow film rights in 2004, with David Hayter to direct?

The project died by 2006 and the rights reverted to Marvel; Hayter said no one else 'was willing to take the movie, and the character, seriously'.

Which actress was in early talks to play Black Widow in Iron Man 2 before Johansson?

A prior commitment to Gulliver's Travels forced her out; Johansson signed in March 2009 with options for multiple films.

Which director dropped out over a Nomadland schedule clash, then went on to make Eternals?

Coralie Fargeat also passed, choosing to develop The Substance because she doubted Marvel would give her final cut.

Where did principal photography begin on May 28, 2019?

Later locations included Pinewood in London, Budapest, Hankley Common in Surrey, Tangier and Macon, Georgia, over 87 days.

What was the film's working title while shooting at Hankley Common in Surrey?

The common was dressed as a Russian farmstead with added helicopter crash sites, to the annoyance of the local parish council.

How many BMW X3s were used to film the car chase in the Hungarian capital?

Crews switched off the stability control and swapped the electronic parking brake for a hydraulic one so the cars would do what the script demanded.

The Georgia town of Macon was dressed to portray which city?

Set photos from that shoot revealed William Hurt would return as Thaddeus Ross.

Which composer replaced Alexandre Desplat late in post-production?

He wrote an original piece in the style of Russian folk music the sisters might have grown up on, and drew on Prokofiev and Stravinsky.

The opening credits feature a slowed-down cover of which Nirvana song?

The Think Up Anger version featuring Malia J was suggested by Perception, the studio that designed the credits to look like 8mm film and VHS.

Which Don McLean song is heard in the film?

The family sings it in the car in the 1995 prologue; Sia's 'Cheap Thrills' also features.

Which unusual feature for a Marvel film does Black Widow have?

Feige said Shortland felt strongly about showing what Dreykov was responsible for right at the start.

On what date was Black Widow finally released in the US, after three delays?

All three of the other dates were earlier scheduled releases; the film had been finished a year before it came out.

How much did Disney+ Premier Access charge to stream Black Widow at home on release?

Premier Access made $67 million worldwide on opening weekend, the first time Disney disclosed such a figure.

What did Scarlett Johansson allege in her July 2021 lawsuit against Disney?

She argued the day-and-date release cost her 'very large box office bonuses'; Disney replied that the suit had 'no merit whatsoever'.

According to Deadline, roughly how much did Johansson receive when the lawsuit was settled?

Disney had already disclosed her $20 million fee in its response, a move her agent called an attempt to weaponise her success.

Approximately how much did Black Widow gross at the worldwide box office?

Its $80.4 million domestic opening was the biggest since the pandemic began, beating F9, though the 67% second-weekend drop was the largest ever for an MCU film.

Black Widow's 67% second-weekend drop was the largest for an MCU film, passing which movie's 62%?

Analysts blamed the Premier Access release and widespread piracy: Deadline reported over 20 million illegal downloads.

Which country never released Black Widow in cinemas, starting a run of MCU films kept out until 2023?

By September 2021 the film was not expected to open there, the start of what was described as a de facto ban.

Which real Russian archipelago's photography was used to build the mountains around Alexei's prison?

Weta FX built the range and an avalanche; Cinesite handled the prison itself.

What breed of live pig did Weta film as reference for the digital pigs on Melina's farm?

The final Red Room fall was shot with actors on wires in a wind tunnel, with sky and debris added digitally.

Which bodybuilder plays Ursa Major, Alexei's fellow prison inmate?

The 7-foot-2 Dutch actor announced his casting himself in August 2019.

Which real North Sea structure did the crew scan as visual-effects reference in August 2019?

The scans informed the industrial look of the Red Room's exteriors and technology.

Which of Johansson's stunt doubles was the subject of a half-hour ESPN E60 documentary in July 2021?

Johansson's longtime double was profiled in a half-hour E60 special narrated by Johansson herself.

How was the aircraft escape at the end of the Ohio prologue shot?

ILM played footage shot in Atlanta on LED walls to light the actors, and delivered around 800 shots for the film overall.

Which Belova co-creator went public after receiving $5,000 rather than an expected $25,000 for the character's film use?

A contract provision let Marvel reduce the payment; after the outcry Marvel agreed to pay the remainder.

Which gender-equity recognition did Black Widow receive for 2021?

It was one of 28 films that year proven to have gender-balanced hiring.

Which Disney+ series did Yelena next appear in, continuing the post-credits storyline?

Showrunner Jonathan Igla's interest in using Yelena is the reason the post-credits scene was written at all.

Which actor plays Thaddeus Ross, the Secretary of State hunting Natasha after the Sokovia Accords?

He saw the character as a weary 'soldier on the last hill' after his failed attempt to control the Avengers in Civil War.

Where does the fake family escape to after fleeing Ohio in the 1995 prologue?

The stolen S.H.I.E.L.D. intel was the point of the mission, and the two 'daughters' were then shipped to the Red Room for training.

Which studio company handled the film's final battle sequence, completing around 320 shots?

Industrial Light & Magic took the bigger share, about 800 shots, including the opening airplane escape and the Budapest chase.