Black Widow: Disney Reveals Unexpected Details About Natasha's Childhood

Warning - This article contains minor spoilers for Black Widow.

'In early January, it was revealed by Milla Jovovich that her daughter, Ever Anderson, would be playing a young Natasha Romanoff in Black Widow. Then, in a trailer for Black Widow, fans finally got to see Anderson in the role as audiences were treated to a peek at Natasha's childhood.

It was mentioned multiple times before in the earliest trailers for the film that Natasha had a family before the Avengers, but over time, fans learned that she quite literally had a fake family with David Harbour's Alexei Shostakov and Rachel Weisz's Melina Vostokoff acting as her parents, along with Florence Pugh's Yelena Belova as her sister.

Now, a few more details have been shared about these childhood sequences and the mentality of Natasha when she was younger.

MORE DETAILS ON BLACK WIDOW'S CHILDHOOD

Marvel

In a Black Widow press kit officially released by Disney, a description of Natasha's childhood was given that delves into a bit more detail about her "normal life in suburban Ohio" with her parents and little sister, Yelena. It goes as far as to paint Natasha as a child with "an old soul" and more grown-up than her fellow preteens.

The description also emphasizes her defensive nature towards Yelena, always keeping "a close eye" on her. Some days, she even imagines this could be her life forever.

Ever Anderson, who plays the younger blue-haired Natasha, said, “I would describe Young Nat as a tomboyish girl, a great student and someone who wants a normal life.”

She even hinted at Natasha's traumatic upbringing in the Red Room before coming to Ohio and how “she had been through so much before coming to Ohio, so she just wants to forget about her past and start over.”

Anderson also reaffirmed Natasha's protective nature over Yelena:

“I think Nat is very motherly with her sister. Yes, sometimes they squabble and fight, but in the end, Natasha would do anything for Yelena because she really loves her.”

The press release also mentioned that Black Widow will explore "three years in a fabricated family structure" and how it was filmed. These sequences were filmed in Atlanta, Georgia with the help of production designer Charles Wood and his team, creating backdrops for "family activities."

The 1990s architecture of streets in Chamblee, Georgia, was used in exterior shots to sell the time period with interiors captured in Atlanta.

YOUNG NATASHA WANTED TO START OVER

As young as 10 years old, Natasha wanted a new life for herself away from the horrors of the Red Room and the KGB, but fans know that she cut ties decades later when she meets Clint Barton. It's obvious that the mother and father referred to in this press release are Melina and Alexei Shostakov, as seen in the last trailer.

It was only implied that Natasha was unaware that the family she had made with Melina and Alexei was fake, but this new description solidifies it. It is unknown why the Red Room would neglect to inform two of their assets about the true nature of their mission in Ohio. Obviously, something goes wrong when a Black Widow agent is seen separating Natasha and Yelena, potentially compromising their mission.

Natasha is described as an "old soul," which points to her being under the Red Room's tutelage at a far younger age than shown in Avengers: Age of Ultron. The show Agent Carter actually explored the upbringing and training of Black Widows in the Red Room, which began as children. The training was so intense that even then, they were trained to kill.

Fans will soon discover what caused Natasha's soul to age beyond her years when Black Widow is released in theaters and Disney+  via Premier Access on July 9, 2021.