Marvel Studios dropped their official teaser trailer for the upcoming Black Widow film on Tuesday, to give fans a glimpse of what’s to come.
That includes Scarlett Johansson reprising her role as the title character as well as a look at one of the main villains, and David Harbour in his role as the character Red Guardian.
Black Widow trailer features Harbour as Red Guardian
The new Black Widow trailer packs plenty of action, jokes, and more insight into the story of Natasha Romanoff. Based on the trailer, it features Romanoff aka Black Widow, having to “return to where it all started.” She’ll need help with that, though.
Along the way, she’s reuniting with her sister who is also highly trained like Natasha, as well as a man named Alexi. That’s where David Harbour comes in as Red Guardian, a unique superhero as he’s described in interviews.
“There’s an openness to interpretation,” Harbour told Comicbook of the character in July. “The one thing we do is know is that he’s the counterpart to Captain America on the Russian Soviet side, but that way we have a lot of play with who he is and we are playing with him.”
In the trailer below, Harbour debuts in all his glory as Red Guardian around the 1:30 mark as he eventually dons the helmet. Later on, he’s shown in full costume. The trailer also shows him engaged in several action scenes as well as the main star, Natasha Romanoff.
As far as the Red Guardian’s Marvel comics debut, that happened in The Avengers #43 which was published in August 1967. According to Marvel Database at Fandom, the character’s real name is Alexi Shostakov.
He’s described as a “former test pilot and special operative for the intelligence agencies of the Soviet Union and of the People’s Republic of China.”
Very cool to see the #RedGuardian this morning in the #BlackWidow trailer. #Avengers #BlackWidowTrailer pic.twitter.com/mCukwjHh0D
— Tony Scipione (@Seven_Soldiers) December 3, 2019
Harbour mentioned to Comicbook that the movie will explore the relationships that are part of Natasha’s life beyond her relationship with the Avengers. In addition, he says the timeline of this movie will take place before what audiences saw in Endgame.
“You get to really explore these events and that was one of the things that was very interesting to me in the movie because you know the events of Endgame and so you get to explore how she got there, how she got there to make that choice,” Harbour said.
Fans react to Harbour as Red Guardian
David Harbour isn’t a newcomer in terms of superhero roles, as he attempted to take on the Hellboy character. Unfortunately, that particular movie wasn’t well-received by many critics and moviegoers.
Harbour, who is well known for playing Jim Hopper on Netflix’s Stranger Things, will now get a chance at superhero redemption with Marvel’s Red Guardian.
Here's the first on-screen look at actor @DavidKHarbour as the Red Guardian in #BlackWidow! pic.twitter.com/iMKQ1pQguS
— MCU Direct (@MCU_Direct) December 3, 2019
It’s Marvel, so fans expect the best from the live-action comic-to-screen translations. So far, fan reactions are in favor of Harbour in the role and the way the character looks in the trailer. Here are just a few of the Twitter posts gushing over Harbour as Red Guardian.
.@DavidKHarbour looking awesome as Red Guardian in #BlackWidow pic.twitter.com/ygjeyPB0Lo
— Geek Vibes Nation ? (@GeekVibesNation) December 3, 2019
I love him already. #BlackWidow #RedGuardian pic.twitter.com/CpxnXNFeeP
— Chris Hanna (@MegaNerd98) December 3, 2019
y'all can KEEP chris & tom # 1-67994326. red guardian is the only true sex symbol in the mcu. i literally MOANED and giggled like an infant, blushing when he was on screen while watching the trailer. #BlackWidow pic.twitter.com/vDEq6Zo6Oj
— George Junior ?? (@BaraPinkRanger) December 3, 2019
Some fans are already calling for Harbour’s Red Guardian to get his own show, and that definitely can happen thanks to Disney’s streaming service.
In addition to seeing David Harbour as Red Guardian and Scarlett Johansson back in her superhero role, moviegoers can also look forward to seeing some of the other comic characters associated with Black Widow. Florence Pugh plays Yelena Belova and there’s a sinister villain known as Taskmaster they’ll have to contend with.
It appears Marvel just might have a few people heading to the theaters when this one comes out.
Marvel Studios’ Black Widow arrives in theaters on May 1, 2020.