Black Widow looks set to introduce a lot of great new characters to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, though one of the most intriguing is undoubtedly Rachel Weisz's Melina Vostokoff. There are a lot of theories floating around about what sort of role she'll play, with some fans convinced that her villainous comic book history means she's secretly Taskmaster!
Time will tell on that front, but in the Black Widow: The Official Movie Special Book (which is now on sale from Titan Books), the actress opened up about what fans can expect from the character.
"She was trained in the Red Room," Weisz reveals. "I'm a Widow. I was taken away from my parents when I was small and given over to Dreykov, who runs the Red Room. He is the mastermind behind the training that all the Widows go through. I think for some time he's been like a father figure. I'm definitely brainwashed by him. I believe in his cause, and I believe that he means well and is doing good in the world."
"At the start of the film I'm a Russian spy posing as an American mom. I'm pretending that little Natasha and little Yelena are my children and that Alexei is my husband."
That last point certainly explains why we've heard so much about Black Widow having a family dynamic, and the actress would go on to reveal that she enjoyed "[getting] to be this spy who's pretending to be an American mom."
Where do we find her when events move to the present day, though?
"It's been wonderful to be Melina because I get Then you cut to twenty years later, and she's living out on her own, and she's a scientist. She's living in quite a deserted place living with pigs, which is quite something. I've never acted with pigs before. They're absolutely adorable, big, furry pigs. So my character does go through a lot of twists and turns. There's never been a dull moment."
Melina is definitely going to be someone to keep an eye on, and that loyalty to Dreykov no doubt means she's a character Natasha should be wary of in Black Widow, don't you think?
Click on the "Next" button below to check out 10
big Marvel Cinematic Universe Phase 4 rumours!
10. Ryan Reynolds Signs A Record-Breaking Deal To Return As Deadpool
Fans are desperate to know what the future holds in store for Deadpool in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and while we know Ryan Reynolds has visited Marvel Studios, the actor maintains that he knows nothing of what comes next for the Merc with the Mouth on the silver screen.
Not too long, The Direct claimed that Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige is interested in signing Reynolds to the "biggest" deal in the history of this shared comic book world.
It's assumed that means the actor will be signed up to star in more Marvel Studios films than any other actor, an indication, perhaps, that there are indeed huge plans for Deadpool in future despite no official word on the matter from Kevin Feige, but this is a rumour it's best to take with a pinch of salt.
9. Spider-Man 3 Adds Tobey Maguire And Andrew Garfield
One very interesting rumour that's been doing the rounds since Jamie Foxx was cast in Spider-Man 3 claims that Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield have signed up to play their respective versions of Peter Parker in the threequel. The usual online scoopers can't seem to agree whether it's happening or not, but Entertainment Tonight later reached out to Sony Pictures.
A representative for the studio issued an expected, albeit interesting response to these rumours: "Those rumored castings are not confirmed." It sounds like the studio is being careful not to outright deny anything, but why even respond to an admittedly far-fetched rumour if there's not so much as a grain of truth to it? After all, that response most definitely isn't an outright "no."
If this pans out, Spider-Man 3 will quite easily be one of the biggest MCU movies of all-time.
8. Hawkeye TV Series Will Reportedly Include Echo
Up until now, Marvel Studios hasn't really explored Clint Barton's hearing difficulties, but it appears that could change in the Hawkeye TV series coming to Disney+.
According to a rumour shared by The Illuminerdi, the plan is for Daredevil supporting character, and one-time love interest, Echo to appear in the show. She also served as a New Avenger, and actually Maya Lopez was actually Ronin in the comic books before Clint ended up taking over the mantle.
According to a casting call that went out, Marvel Studios is looking for a character who is, "deaf, Native American, First Nations, Indigenous and/or Latinx, independent, athletic and bright."
That definitely sounds like Echo.
7. Spider-Slayers In Spider-Man 3
A recent report from Murphy's Multiverse claimed that Dr. Spencer Smythe and the Spider-Slayers are expected to be part of Spider-Man 3, meaning they could join Jamie Foxx's Electro.
As the site pointed out, J. Jonah Jameson was the one who commissioned the creation of those robots in the comic books. Given his return at the end of Spider-Man: Far From Home, it would certainly make sense for Jonah to be the one who attempts to bring Peter Parker to justice in the threequel.
It's also worth remembering that B.J. Novak played Alistair Smythe, Spencer's son, in The Amazing Spider-Man 2. There's no word on whether he'll return, but that would be another link to that sequel.
6. Quicksilver Could Be Coming To WandaVision
There have been rumblings for a while that Quicksilver will make an appearance in WandaVision, though it's unclear whether Aaron Taylor-Johnson is set to reprise the role. However, with Evan Peters reportedly set to make an appearance, the prevailing theory is that he will be playing the speedster.
That might confuse some fans, but the Scarlet Witch's reality-altering powers quite easily open the door to her brother being resurrected or her plucking another Pietro out of the Multiverse.
This news came to us from a leaked Funko Pop listing, with the claim being that there's an Emerald City Comic-Con exclusive in the works which will include Quicksilver and Vision in a two-pack.
5. Tatiana Maslany Is Playing She-Hulk
This is a weird one.
Considering the fact the trades reported that Orphan Black alum Tatiana Maslany had been cast in the She-Hulk TV series coming to Disney+, you'd think it happening would be a given!
However, a spanner was thrown into the works when the actress was asked about playing Jennifer Walters, only to respond: "That actually isn’t a real thing and it’s like a press release that’s gotten out of hand. It’s totally not — I’ve been connected to these things in the past and press has gotten onto it, but it’s not actually a thing, unfortunately."
Now, it's not unusual for an actor to deny they've been cast in a project like this one, but Maslany was insistent that it's not happening, so we're going to have to file this as a rumour for now.
4. A Young Bruce Banner In She-Hulk
While we're talking about She-Hulk, it's worth mentioning the rumour that Marvel Studios plans to have a ten-year-old Bruce Banner appear in the Disney+ TV series. Mark Ruffalo is pretty much confirmed to reprise his role as The Hulk in the show, so it's likely we'll get some flashback scenes.
Those would help deepen the relationship between Bruce and his cousin Jennifer Walters, especially if he's going to end up giving her a blood transfusion in order to save the lawyer's life.
She-Hulk also has the opportunity to explore the Green Goliath's childhood, a time we know wasn't happy for him. Beyond this rumour, very little is known about what to expect from the series.
3. How The Multiverse Could Factor Into Spider-Man 3
Soon after the news broke that Jamie Foxx would return as Electro in Spider-Man 3 after first playing the character in 2014's The Amazing Spider-Man 2, a rumour popped up online stating, "there’s some multiverse madness involved to have that version of Electro cross over from one cinematic universe to another. Wanda really messed things up with her little 'vision.'"
That was following by a pretty unbelievable claim that Kirsten Dunst and Dane DeHaan are also being eyed to reprise the roles of Mary Jane Watson and Harry Osborn from their respective Spider-Man franchises. Apparently, this isn't necessarily for Spider-Man 3, either, so it could be that the Sorcerer Supreme visits their worlds in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.
Revisiting the Spider-Man franchise's past is certainly an unexpected decision, and it's hard to escape the feeling that something big might be in the works for the wall-crawler moving forward.
2. Madame Masque Could Be One Of Hawkeye's Villains
There have been signs that Hawkeye will feature The Clown and the Tracksuit Mafia, but the identity of the show's lead villain may have been revealed. According to one rumour, classic Iron Man villain Madame Masque will appear in a "supporting role" in the highly anticipated Disney+ series.
It's said that Marvel Studios is in the process of casting an actress to play the villain, and this presumably means Agent Carter isn't considered canon seeing as Whitney Frost also appeared there.
It's worth noting that Madame Masque has clashed with both Clint Barton and Kate Bishop in the comic books, and Kate's father has even been one of her clients. How all this will factor into Hawkeye itself remains to be seen, but this is definitely an interesting rumour, and one that points to the Disney+ series taking a deep dive into the source material to deliver a lot of big surprises.
1. Tom Hardy's Venom Could Be Part Of Spider-Man 3 Too
It's no secret that Tom Holland and Tom Hardy are keen for a Spider-Man/Venom crossover, while you have to believe Sony Pictures would love to make it happen too (even with bad reviews, a movie like that would be a huge box office hit for a studio relying heavily on the web-slinger).
Well, weeks after it was reported that Sony was keen on more crossovers with the Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Direct shared a rumour suggesting that there's "general interest" from both studios to have Tom Hardy's Venom appear in Spider-Man 3. There are no real talks yet, and it sounded like this would be no more than just a minor cameo appearance.
It's definitely hard to believe, but stranger things have happened, and this could set up something bigger down the line (Venom 3 featuring a full-blown team up between the characters makes sense).