Marvel Studios is on a hiatus from releasing new content for most of the next month until Loki debuts on Disney+ on June 9. During the run of this show, the MCU will also bring its first movie in two years with the arrival of Black Widow on July 9.
While this may come as Scarlett Johansson's first solo movie in the franchise after first arriving in 2010's Iron Man 2, the story will bring more than a handful of new characters into the mix. On this list of new faces are Natasha Romanoff's Russian family she left behind to become an Avenger, including Florence Pugh's Yelena Belova and David Harbour's Red Guardian.
Additionally, according to Harbour's latest social media post, there could be even more newcomers.
MORE RUSSIANS ARE COMING?
Black Widow star David Harbour took to Instagram to share his recently released poster for the movie. In the caption, Harbour included the following message, teasing the possible arrival of Winter Guard characters Ursa, CD (Crimson Dynamo), and Sputnik in Black Widow:
"Ursa, Yelena, Nat, CD, Sputnik, I and all the rest of the winter guard look forward to sharing a popcorn bag and a big ole screen in a dark theater with ya on July 9"
MARVEL INTRODUCING THE WINTER GUARD?
While no mention of the Winter Guard has come through any of the promotional material for Black Widow, Marvel and its team do have a way of laying out subtle hints of what's coming.
The Winter Guard from Marvel Comics is a team of extraordinary soldiers sponsored by the Russian government, sometimes described as an answer to the Avengers. Harbour's post seems to be teasing certain members of this team appearing in Black Widow, including Ursa Major (a humanoid bear), Sputnik (a machine-controlling synthezoid), and the Crimson Dynamo (Iron Man, but Russian).
In the movie's first trailer, an Easter Egg for Ursa Major pops up in an unspecified office, which is yet another tease for this character possibly coming into play.
It's unclear whether Marvel Studios is planning to bring this full team into play for Black Widow or a future project, but this many teases for them seems difficult to ignore. With Natasha's Russian background being fully explored here and Yelena Belova appearing in Hawkeye on Disney+, the Winter Guard can't be counted out as a potential new inclusion in the MCU.
Black Widow will arrive in theaters and on Disney+ on July 9.
