Amy Sussman/Getty Images(LOS ANGELES) — It’s been over 10 years since Scarlett Johansson first appeared as Natasha Romanoff in Iron Man 2, and, finally, fans will learn the mysterious character’s story in the upcoming action movie Black Widow.

Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the film’s release date was pushed to November 6, 2020.  Still, Black Widow will set the tone for the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s next phase in storytelling — commonly referred to as Phase Four — for the franchise.

In a recent interview with Empire, Johansson says that because Black Widow ushers in the MCU’s new era, the story plans to tackle a litany of important issues and set a more feminist tone.

“I think this film in particular is very much reflective of what’s going on in regards to the Time’s Up movement and the #MeToo movement,” said the 35-year-old actress. “It would be such a miss if we didn’t address that stuff, if this film didn’t take that head-on.”

Johansson says the movie is “about women who are helping other women, who lift other women up out of a very difficulty situation.”

The actress also explained why it was important for Black Widow to include these values, because fans needed to know where her character stands before she’s retired from the MCU.

“Someone asked me if Natasha was a feminist. Of course she is, it’s obvious,” the actress quipped. “It’s kinda an asinine question.”

Black Widow made the ultimate sacrifice in Avengers: Endgame, so the upcoming story will take place before Captain America: Civil War and set up Florence Pugh, who plays Black Widow’s “sister” Yelena Belova, as the one to inherit the mantle for the franchise’s next phase.

Johansson’s complete Empire interview is available on newsstands now for the magazine’s Dune issue.

Marvel is owned by Disney, the parent company of ABC News.

By Megan Stone
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