The women of Marvel Studios’ Black Widow–Natasha Romanoff and Yelena Belova–are among the most elite human warriors of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. But the actresses behind them are next-level, too, with both Scarlett Johansson and Florence Pugh having done many of their own stunts, according to director Cate Shortland in a new interview with Fandango.
The interview comes along with the release of a new clip from the upcoming movie released today by Marvel Studios, featuring a chase reminiscent more of a Bond or Bourne flick than a Marvel movie.
“We were on rooftops shooting that [scene] in Budapest,” Shortland said. “We worked with this legion of amazing stunt women. But Scarlett and Florence did a lot of their own stunts. Scarlett does as much as she can. And then Florence–say, when Florence went to Morocco, and she shot for two days–she did 90% of her own stunts. So they were both really into it. And I think because Florence was watching Scarlett and seeing how much Scarlett tries to do, it influenced her. It’s pretty cool. Scarlett does quite a lot.”
It wasn’t just about Johansson and Pugh, but all the Windows featured in the film.
“I looked at a lot of combat films and a lot of stuff where we were looking at armies and militia. And then, I put females in those roles,” Shortland continued. “So we weren’t necessarily used to seeing women in those roles. And it was really exciting. And it was exciting too because we had women from all over the world. And we had women who were African, American, French Norwegian, who not only were our stunt women, but also our widows. Because most widows had an accompany stuntwoman that looks like them. So if we’ve got 15 widows or 20 widows, we’ve got 20 stuntwomen.”
The interview talks about the film’s other inspirations, frequent delays from its initial 2020 release dates and why the delays might be a blessing in disguise for the film, too; the whole thing is worth a read.
Black Widow hits theaters and Disney+ Premiere Access on July 9. If you’re looking for a Marvel fix right now, though, the first episode of Loki premiered on Disney+ this week. Check out our list of Easter eggs and read up on the history behind the show after you check it out.
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