‘The Departed’ actor Ray Winstone has joined the cast of Marvel’s upcoming standalone movie ‘Black Widow,’ reports Variety. Though Winstone’s role in the movie is unknown, he will be seen alongside Scarlett Johansson, who returns as her iconic role in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Black Widow a.k.a. Natasha Romanoff. Other cast includes Rachel Weisz, David Harbour (‘Stranger Things’) and Florence Pugh (‘Midsommar’).
Cate Shortland is set to direct the film from a script by Jac Schaeffer. Marvel’s Kevin Feige produces ‘Black Widow,’ which is currently under production in the U.K and Norway.
Johansson debuted as Black Widow in the 2010 Marvel flick ‘Iron Man 2.’ Armed with the lethal weapon ‘Widow’s Bite’ and exceptional martial arts skills, Black Widow is considered as one of the most talented and formidable warriors among Avengers. She was a KGB agent before joining S.H.I.E.L.D. Then, she joined the Avengers when Loki waged war on Earth and fought alongside Stark to protect the planet. According to rumors, the upcoming movie will be a prequel considering the aftermath of the final showdown in ‘Avengers: Endgame.’
Admirers of Black Widow’ are clamoring for a standalone movie since the release of ‘Iron Man 2.’ In the wake of movies like ‘Wonder Woman’ and ‘Captain Marvel,’ Black Widow joins other Avengers who got their standalone movies earlier. Moreover, the Marvel Cinematic Universe is on the verge of a paradigm shift as its phase three comes to an end with ‘Spider-Man: Far From Home.’
On the other hand, Winstone emerged as a prominent character actor with his supporting roles like Mr. French in ‘The Departed’ directed by Martin Scorsese. He played the character Claude Cabret in the 2011 Scorsese flick, ‘Hugo.’ Winstone also played major roles in ‘The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe,’ ‘Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull’ and Darren Aronofsky‘s biblical saga ‘Noah.’
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Marvel heads to the upcoming San Diego Comic-Con in July. The banner is expected to reveal more about the secretive ‘Black Widow’ project at the event. Other titles in the Marvel lineup for the mega Marvel session at the Comic-Con reportedly include ‘The Eternals,’ ‘Shang-Chi’ and ‘Doctor Strange 2.’
‘Black Widow’ will be one of the first movies that mark the beginning of phase 4 of MCU. When asked about the prequel, Marvel chief Kevin Feige reportedly said, “There are ways to do prequels that are less informative or answer questions you didn’t necessarily have, and then there are ways to do prequels where you learn all sorts of things you never knew before.”
Cover Image Courtesy: Marvel.
