Photos taken on the set of Black Widow might confirm where in the MCU timeline the movie takes place, and it’s not what we expected at all.
Marvel has been trying to keep things pretty secretive when it comes to anything post-Phase 3 until after the release of Spider-Man: Far From Home. However, with the Black Widow movie currently shooting in Budapest, it’s kind of difficult to keep it under wraps.
Photos taken on set seem to confirm one of the villains will be Taskmaster, who comic fans have been wanting to see on the big screen for a while now. And it also appears that Yelena Belova (Florence Pugh), Natasha Romanoff’s Black Widow successor appears in the film.
It’s important to note that Bucky Barnes actor Sebastian Stan reportedly said in May that Black Widow takes place after Captain America: Civil War and before Avengers: Infinity War. However, it wasn’t an official statement so we couldn’t tell if it was true or not.
At the time of Stan’s comment, it was believed the film would be set in the early 2000s and would show Natasha’s origin story.
Now, the latest photos taken on set might confirm when the movie takes place in the MCU timeline and it seems Stan was correct.
In the photos, Natasha is being pursued by what looks like Taskmaster, but what’s important is the car she’s driving is a 2017 BMW 5 Series Touring Wagon.
This is important because when has an MCU movie ever used anything other than a new or not-yet-released car? That makes it more likely that Black Widow is set between Captain America: Civil War (2016) and Avengers: Infinity War (2018).
So, in this story, Natasha is already an Avenger and seemingly has no backup from her super friends for whatever mission she’s on.
This timing would explain where Natasha was before her entrance in the middle of Infinity War when she appears with Captain America’s ‘Secret Avengers’.
With Yelena Belova being involved, it will probably see Natasha discovering the Red Room program is still active and that she has someone who wants to prove they’re her superior. She may even be outmatched by this new Black Widow.
Marvel will likely make any announcements about the Black Widow film and future films at their Hall H panel at San Diego Comic-Con.