Black Widow Trailer Review: 8 Ups & 3 Downs

Downs

3. There's No Time Qualification

There's a bit of a problem here for slightly more "mainstream" fans of this franchise, because there's no overt statement of when this film is actually set. We know from the pre-trailer marketing - all of the interviews and information released out of cons - that it's set immediately after Civil War, when Tony tells Nat to go underground and crucially, before Infinity War.

But, your general audience member - the ones who are the key to hundreds of millions at the box office turning into billions - don't get that information UNLESS it's in the trailer. That's their first encounter of the movie, so seeing someone who is dead in an obviously modern setting will cause confusion. It's as simple as that, and adding even the slightest qualification of setting would have avoided it.

Perhaps it's a case of Marvel not wanting the entire thing to be overshadowed by the fact that Nat is currently dead and that leading the emotions of the marketing. But the genie is out of the bottle and it's a little difficult to do anything about it other than embracing it, regardless of the fact that Nat's death probably would have . been even more impactful if her backstory had come BEFORE it.