It’s a family affair in the newest and final trailer for Marvel’s Black Widow. The movie is seen as the kick-off event for Phase 4 of Marvel’s Cinematic Universe and, as is befitting both a movie of such import and one about superspies, there is still a lot we don’t know.
However, this action-packed trailer provides a little more backstory and gives us a better introduction to some of the supporting cast.
Black Widow‘s primary logline states that Natasha Romanoff, aka Black Widow, will confront “the darker parts of her ledger when a dangerous conspiracy with ties to her past arises. Pursued by a force that will stop at nothing to bring her down, Natasha must deal with her history as a spy and the broken relationships left in her wake long before she became an Avenger.”
Sure enough, the final trailer begins with Black Widow and her sister, played by Florence Pugh, catching up at a bar before Pugh reveals that the film’s villain, Taskmaster, has brainwashed and militarized a small army of superspies just like Black Widow. In a voiceover, Black Widow reflects on her past prior to joining the Avengers and alludes to a personal connection with Taskmaster and his crew.
Taskmaster’s identity, as well as that of the actor who plays him, remains secret. In the comics, Taskmaster is a particularly dangerous enemy to the Avengers because he has “mnemonic talents” that empower him with something called “photographic reflexes.” That means he can see another person’s movements just once and then duplicate them immediately, even if he’s only seen them on TV. For members of the Avengers, fighting Taskmaster is like fighting themselves.
The film is a prequel, intended to bridge the events of Captain America: Civil War and Avengers: Infinity War but the trailer appears to also jump all the way to the period before Marvel’s The Avengers. What’s clear is that Black Widow will have a lot of reflection on her past to do.
In addition to her sister, the trailer also introduces us to two characters who behave like the Romanoff sisters’ parents but it’s unclear if there is any biological relation. David Harbour and Rachel Weisz are both highly trained operatives who will accompany the Romanoff sisters into battle but who also take care to teach them manners at the dinner table. Given Black Widow’s fate in Avengers: Endgame, there has also been speculation that Florence Pugh will eventually pick up the Black Widow mantle, an idea this film may shed additional light on.
Cate Shortland directs the upcoming film, which also stars Ray Winstone, William Hurt, and O-T Fagbenle. Despite fears concerning the coronavirus, Disney has maintained that Black Widow will be released on May 1, 2020.
Some of the best shots in Grok Imagine’s AI-made Odyssey don’t contain actors. Ancient landscapes stretch into the distance. Close-ups of grimy hands suggest people who have touched something rougher than a keyboard. For a few seconds, the illusion holds.
https://twitter.com/imagine/status/2113712964419063911
YouTube videos could soon look better without eating quite so much data, right? Thankfully, the platform plans to introduce a new video format called AV2 on its web player in early 2027, promising more efficient streaming and potentially fewer playback hiccups on slower internet connections. The big headline is a roughly 30% improvement in compression efficiency over AV1, YouTube's existing video format. That doesn't guarantee every video will use 30% less data, but it could make streaming a little easier on both internet connections and data allowances.
What is AV2, and why should viewers care?
YouTube is changing how its Home page works, giving viewers more control over what shows up there and making some of the app’s most-used sections easier to reach. Custom Feeds are now replacing the existing topic chips for eligible users, while YouTube is also testing a redesigned top bar on mobile that moves Subscriptions closer to the Home feed.
YouTube first started experimenting with Custom Feeds earlier this year, letting you type out what you wanted to watch and turning that request into its own stream of recommendations. Now, the feature is starting to look less like a side experiment and more like something YouTube actually wants people to use as part of their everyday Home page.