Black Widow had its fair share of delays due to the pandemic, but the film will finally premiere on Disney+ via Premier Access and in theaters this July. Directed by Cate Shortland, the film will feature the return of Scarlett Johansson's Natasha Romanoff, but with a twist.
Given that the Avenger already met her demise by sacrificing her life for the Soul Stone during Avengers: Endgame, this MCU entry will be set in between the events of Captain America: Civil War and Avengers: Infinity War. By doing so, it will follow Romanoff's story being on the run from the Sokovia Accords.
With the character's back against the wall and having no allies to turn to, Romanoff will be forced to reunite with her former Russian family from the Red Room. This family includes Florence Pugh's Yelena Belova, David Harbour's Alexei Shostakov a.k.a. Red Guardian, and Rachel Weisz's Melina Vostokoff.
Marketing for Black Widow revealed that the main mission for Romanoff's newly-reunited family is to take down the Red Room once and for all, but the arrival of Taskmaster will make this task difficult for them.
While fans speculate on how Romanoff will defeat Taskmaster and the Red Room, an interesting tidbit about one of her allies has emerged in a recent interview.
RED GUARDIAN'S ENDGAME STATUS TEASED
David Harbour, who plays Red Guardian in Black Widow, recently sat down with Comicbook to talk about his MCU character.
When asked about the Russian hero's whereabouts during Thanos' invasion in Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame, Harbour acknowledged his character's absence during the aforementioned movies. He admitted that "there was a lot of fun ideas" and "all kinds of speculations" between him and Black Widow director Cate Shortland about Red Guardian's fate after the prequel:
"I mean the fun thing about this entire thing is that we go back and we build out this structure for something new. So all this new content with a lot of information about the movies that moves forward with these other projects, the new Phase. And you also get to introduce these new characters. Cate Shortland and I had all kinds of speculations about where Red Guardian is, and what happens to him. There was a lot of fun ideas that we had, but I haven't asked [Kevin] Feige himself. I'll do that later."
Brandon Davis of Comicbook then jokingly pointed out that Thanos would've been shaking if Red Guardian was present during the Mad Titan's invasion, and the Stranger Things actor playfully agreed by saying that "it would've not been fair" for the villain.
WHERE IS RED GUARDIAN DURING THE INFINITY SAGA?
David Harbour's comments about Red Guardian's whereabouts during the fight against Thanos didn't give away too much plot detail, and this could hint that the answer to this lingering question is a major spoiler for Black Widow.
At this point, Red Guardian's during the final fight of Black Widow is unknown, but it's possible that he will not survive the whole ordeal considering the dangerous nature of Taskmaster. The trailers and promos for the film established the idea that Alexei is the father figure in Romanoff's Russian family, and he could sacrifice himself for his daughters during the battle.
On the flip side, there's always a chance that Red Guardian didn't want to help the rest of the Avengers or that he simply wasn't informed of the gravity of the situation. It's also possible that Alexei is a victim of Thanos' snap, thus leaving him sidelined in the final stand against the Mad Titan.
Once Romanoff deals with the threat of the Red Room, it is expected that she will be reunited with Steve Rogers and Sam Wilson at the tail-end of the prequel leading into the events of Infinity War. However, the rest of her family is a different story altogether.
Marketing revealed that Romanoff and Yelena broke the Red Guardian out of a heavily guarded prison, and it's reasonable to assume that he will not return to his cell when the credits roll. That said, it looks like Alexei will either go off the grid or choose to reunite with Rachel Weisz's Melina for future missions.
The story possibilities are endless, and all will be revealed when Black Widow premieres on Disney+ via Premier Access and in theaters on July 9, 2021.
