Black Widow was going to have a very different haircut in her movie

The movie art book Black Widow has revealed that the look of the character played by Scarlett Johansson was going to be very different

Black Widow from Marvel Studios, it came very late as many believe it should have been released much earlier, especially since Scarlett Johansson made her MCU debut in iron man 2 of 2010.

After several delays in its release date due to the pandemic. The film finally had a theatrical and Disney plus premium release on July 9, 2021. Aside from a few gripes with the final product, Scarlett Johansson’s solo project was well received. She delivered a gritty take on Marvel, packed with non-stop action and a powerful, deeper study of Black Widow, while also revealing where the Avenger spy has been between Captain America: Civil War and Avengers: Infinity War.

If a few days ago, with the launch of the art book of Black WidowAndy Park revealed that thunderbolts, was going to be a kind of sequel to this movie, while also showing the front and back covers of the publication. Now we get some of the designs that can be found in it, among others some studies for the Avenger’s haircut.

Marvel’s Black Widow: The Art of the Movie has revealed the fascinating design process that went into the Marvel Studios film, including an excerpt from Director of Visual Development Andy Park, who has come up with every outfit for the ex-spies since The Avengers.

Natasha Romanoff went through several revisions for her solo film before the designers finally settled on the final version, including some that featured Scarlett Johansson with short hair.

Early Black Widow designs

In the early stages, Park was heavily inspired by a distinctive 1980s comic book look made famous by Frank Miller. Park, however, is a supporter of the outfit due to its appearance in Uncanny X-Men #268.

Park believed that: “I thought it could be cool… Within the lines, I also incorporated a subtle black widow spider motif.”

The idea was also to include more red and gold in the uniform. These designs appear to have been made with variations of long and short hair in mind. According to Park, much of the work consists of “play with the details”as Black Widow’s outfits have stayed relatively similar from movie to movie:

“Their look has stayed pretty similar in their various guises…so a lot of playing with the details: different lines and materials.” However, as fans will know, part of the film’s main storyline is that Natasha Romanoff was on the run from Secretary of State T. Thunderbolt Ross. As these ideas developed, Park wanted to move away from the “superhero” look and explore new avenues for the character’s aesthetic: “I did versions where he just wears a jacket and other types of everyday clothes. C.I started to think that incorporating the vest we see in Avengers: Infinity War might be a good idea.”

You can see the designs below

It is always interesting to know the design process of the films. Park’s designs would have been a marked departure from what fans had come to expect from Black Widow’s MCU designs.

Of course, it’s a shame this retro interpretation was never realized on screen. But the final design was arguably much more in keeping with the movie, offering a darker, grittier take on the MCU.

It would have looked great, right? And although these designs were discarded, Natasha finally had an intermediate point in her haircut as we saw in the post-credits scene when we see her with slightly shorter hair and dyed blonde.

Would you have liked to see Black Widow with this look? You can watch the movie at Disney+.