J. Law’s ‘Red Sparrow’ Might Be The Black Widow Movie Marvel Fans Have Been Begging For — Sort Of

On July 14, the world was introduced to the first trailer for the Black Widow solo movie everyone has been pining after for so long. Just kidding: it's Jennifer Lawrence's Red Sparrow trailer. The thriller stars the Oscar-winning actor as a Russian agent trained in the art of seduction and spycraft from an early age. Wait, that's essentially Black Widow's movie and comic book backstory, you say? While Disney has hemmed and hawed for years about ever giving Scarlett Johansson her own spinoff in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, 20th Century Fox has spiritually beaten the House of Mouse to the punch… and the result looks glorious.

Some Black Widow fans may bemoan the fact that the very existence of Red Sparrow negates the need for a Natasha Romanoff-centric MCU spinoff, making it redundant. But in fact, Red Sparrow just might have the exact opposite effect. If it turns out to be successful — which, with someone like Jennifer Lawrence in the lead, it probably will be — it could serve as proof-of-concept that there's a market out there for a female-fronted spy-action movie.

Red Sparrow was directed by Francis Lawrence (no relation to his leading lady), who also directed J. Law in three of the four Hunger Games movies. It was co-written by Eric Warren Singer — who previously wrote a character that landed J. Law an Oscar nomination in 2013's American Hustle — and by Justin Haythe — who previously adapted Revolutionary Road into an Oscar-nominated movie starring Kate Winslet and Leonardo DiCaprio. Aside from J. Law as the eponymous spy, Red Sparrow also stars Joel Edgerton (The Gift), Jeremy Irons (The Borgias), Mary-Louise Parker (Weeds), Ciarán Hinds (Game Of Thrones), Charlotte Rampling (45 Years), and Matthias Schoenaerts (The Danish Girl).

It appears that the studio knew their team had crafted a product that would draw endless comparisons to Black Widow; so instead of trying to distance themselves from that property, they leaned into the comparisons. Apart from the two-word, color-themed title, the trailer contains flashbacks to the Russian training academy lorded over by a stern headmistress…

…motorcycle chases…

…the threat of torture…

…blonde wigs…

…and even inexplicable ballet scenes.

There's also an argument to be made that Disney was never the right studio to make a Black Widow movie anyway. Remember, it will have taken them 11 years to come out with a solo female superhero movie by the time Captain Marvel is released in 2019; not to mention that Disney and its PG-13 ratings probably wouldn't have been able to explore the graphic sex and violence on display in the Red Sparrow trailer, which are hopefully essential aspects to the movie's exploration of the psychological ramifications of turning a young woman into a lethal seduction and murder machine.

Jennifer Lawrence recently revealed her intention to take a two-year break from acting in the near future; if that's true, then Red Sparrow will be one of the last times fans get to see her for a while. Hopefully Red Sparrow turns out to be a project worthy of her talents, and a movie worthy of the fans who have been begging for a Black Widow movie for so long.