'Black Widow' Working Title Revealed

As Black Widow inches closer towards production, it's been revealed the movie will film under the working title of Blue Bayou. According to Production Weekly, the Scarlet Johansson-starring begin filming June 2019 in the United Kingdom.

Though there's no direct indication of a connection, "Blue Bayou" was a song originally written and performed by Roy Orbison. A rendition of the song went on the become one of the most popular songs performed by country rocker Linda Ronstadt. The song earned Ronstadt two Grammy nominations in 1977, one for Record of the Year and another for Best Pop Vocal Performance. It peaked at the third spot on Billboard's Hot 100 chart.

With filming to start overseas, it's likely the production is heading to Pinewood Studios in Iver Heath, Buckinghamshire, a studio they've used to film bits and pieces of Doctor Strange, Guardians of the Galaxy, and Avengers: Age of Ultron.

The Production Weekly listing confirms Cate Shortland (Berlin Syndrome) as the director for the project while Robert Hardy has been revealed as the director of photography. In addition to the usual trio of Marvel bosses — Kevin Feige, Louis D'Esposito, and Victoria Alonso — receiving producer credits, Brad Winderbaum has also been tapped as a producer. Serving as Vice President of Production & Development at Marvel Studios, Winderbaum previously received producer credits on Ant-Man and Thor: Ragnarok.

The reported production synopsis for Black Widow teases a prequel set in 2005-2006, which would place it just a few years ahead of Iron Man (2008) in the Marvel Cinematic Universe timeline.

"At birth the Black Widow (aka Natasha Romanova) is given to the KGB, which grooms her to become its ultimate operative. When the U.S.S.R. breaks up, the government tries to kill her as the action movies to present-day New York, where she is a freelance operative. The standalone film will find Romanoff living in the United States 15 years after the fall of the Soviet Union."

Are you looking forward to Black Widow? Which characters do you hope are introduced in the standalone flick? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.

Though no release date has been announced, it's assumed Black Widow will take Marvel Studios' first available date next year on May 1st, 2020. Upcoming MCU films set for release this year include Captain Marvel on March 8th, Avengers: Endgame on April 26th, and Spider-Man: Far From Home on July 5th.