Black Widow: Rachel Weisz on a Melina Villain Turn, Marvel Secrets (Exclusive)

Among the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s newcomers in the Black Widow movie is Rachel Weisz. The acclaimed actress steps into the cinematic franchise as Melina Vostokoff (a last name which was supposed to be a secret until the movie came out), a character destined to become the Iron Maiden by rule of her comic book counterpart. However, as viewers will see in the Black Widow movie, that fate might not exactly be written in stone for the live-action version of this character. While Weisz tells ComicBook.com that she is open to exploring such a storyline down the line, she has first been focused on the excitement of portraying a Black Widow.

Weisz is one of several characters to sport a Black Widow suit, a character who is a veteran of the Red Room herself in the MCU. “The fittings were quite long because each Black Widow seat gets tailored exactly to you,” Weisz explained. “There is a specific style. They’re all the same, but yeah, I had numerous fittings and so it was a big process, journey getting there. And then when you do have it on and you have your shoulder pads on and your weapons in the back and your wrist cuffs, it’s an iconic piece of clothing, isn’t it? So you’ve got to live up to it. It’s a lot to live up to.”

Weisz, along with Florence Pugh, seems to be leading a charge into the future filled with strong women in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. There is plenty of room still for Weisz to take on a villain role, should her character follow the lead of Melina from comics. In the books, Melina Vostokoff takes an Iron Maiden turn after years of feeling as though she is living in the shadow of Natasha Romanoff. If it were to happen, it probably already would have, but Weisz thinks it’s a fun idea. “Definitely, yes,” she said of such a turn for Melina. “If it’s written, I would be very interested. Yes.”

Nobody at home will hear about such a future for Melina, though, not even her husband Daniel Craig. Craig is known well for his work in Bond movies and the recent Knives Out hit but Weisz doesn’t spill any story details to him. “You know something, we really don’t talk about our work very much,” she said. “I think that’s one thing that we’re quite similar in we like to really take a break. So we’re quite secretive about our work. We just don’t really talk about it that much. I love seeing his work, but I don’t want it ruined by talking about it first.”

What did you think of Black Widow? Share your thoughts in the comment section or send them my way on Instagram! For a deeper dive into Black Widow with its writer Eric Pearson, subscribe to ComicBook.com’s MCU podcast Phase Zero on any major podcast platform to hear the 30-minute spoiler-filled discussion on Wednesday’s new episode. Black Widow is now playing in theaters and on Disney+ with Premier Access.

(Photo: Albert L. Ortega/Getty Image)