Step into the action-packed world of Natasha Romanoff in Marvel’s Black Widow: The Art of the Movie
After seven appearances spanning a decade in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Natasha Romanoff, AKA the Black WidowTake the lead on an adventure unlike any you’ve seen before. Continuing the popular “Art Of” series of movie books, Marvel delivers another huge breakthrough in the Marvel’s Black Widow: The Art of the Movie by Jess Harold with an introduction fromBlack WidowDirector and screenwriter Kate Shortland! Featuring exclusive artwork as well as in-depth interviews with the creative team, this deluxe volume provides insider details on the making of 2021’s most iconic Super Hero movie.
Read an excerpt from the book, then get more peeks in the photo gallery below!
From Chapter 5: The Family Meet (Pages 102-103)
Natasha and Yelena make their way to a convenience store to mend their wounds and continue sharing their stories – and their abandonment issues. Jelena expresses her frustration at being left behind and taunts Natasha for her “fighting poses”. However, slowly but surely, the two begin to bond over the carjacking and Jelena’s impeccable taste in pocket-filled jackets. Natasha just has to admit that the first piece of clothing Jelena bought herself is pretty cool — after all, as Jelena says, “You can put so much stuff in there, you wouldn’t even know it.” When Jelena’s gruff personality appears endearingly so, she and Natasha agree on a common goal: to go to the Red Room and kill Dreykov. The only problem is that the Red Room is constantly moving, and Yelena has no idea where it is. Seems like a lot of work, but it sure could be fun – as much for the audience as it is for the reunited sisters. The first phase of the plan means breaking the “father” who has left them, Alexei, out of an inescapable camp in the frozen wasteland of Siberia. While he proves clueless about the location of the Red Room, he leads his “girls” to a remote farm outside St. Petersburg, Melina’s home country. The widow thought their mother figure had perished from the injuries they sustained while running away from Ohio, but now their entire family is together again–with all the complex feelings of pain, grief, and deeply buried love that comes with this reunion. This sequence forms the emotional heart of Marvel Studios’ Black Widow, defying any attempt to categorize the film into a single genre.
“If you had to box it in, I guess you could say it’s a spy family drama,” says executive producer Victoria Alonso. “It has the espionage part of it, where you start to figure things out. It’s an action movie. The family drama is because the whole movie is about Natasha’s family and who she is—sister, daughter, and widow.”
“Jelena is the annoying little sister who says whatever comes to mind without consequences,” says actress Florence Pugh of her character who gets to life on the road with Natasha. “She’s kind of discovering the world in a new light. She’s wounded and she’s complicated and she acts. She meets Natasha as she rediscovers her identity after being in the Red Room for so long. And together they realize that they both struggle in very similar ways. And so you get this beautiful and unique friendship between The two, because they are long-lost sisters. They kind of patch up each other and each other’s holes in their lives. That was one of the most interesting things about this scenario – that, among all of these chases and epic car battles and amazing stunt sequences, at the heart of it is this ride. Too brutal to discover who they are.”
Yelena knew nothing but betrayal. “Her whole life has been a lie,” says actress and executive producer Scarlett Johansson. “When she comes out of this widow program, she has no sense of independence. She wants to write her own story. She thinks about things in a completely different way. She can be dangerous because she’s kind of careless sometimes. But she’s also incredibly capable and brave and heroic.” And emotional. It’s a really big, stark contrast to the way Natasha used to do it. Natasha is very realistic. And Yelena isn’t. She’s all emotion and everything is there. And it’s really fun to be able to see these two characters when they’re together because it makes for a great sisterly relationship that looks like Like a real family.”