The newest Marvel Cinematic Film, Black Widow, is rated PG-13 and Marvel Studios is pushing that rating to its limit. This spy thriller film leans into Natasha Romanoff aka Black Widow’s darker past and the time in her life before she was an Avenger. That dark past might make Black Widow a little too dark for young kids.
It might seem obvious that if a film has a PG-13 rating that parents may not want to bring their children under 13 to see this film. But Marvel films are usually pretty kid-friendly. Marvel’s Avengers and Captain Marvel films are pretty kid-friendly despite their PG 13 ratings. And that goes for the majority of the Marvel films in the last 12 years. With those films, the action is about the most severe things get in those films. In comparison the Black Widow, although very funny at times, strikes a much darker tone than a lot of the previous Marvel Studio films.
Black Widow’s History
Black Widow is the first film in Phase Four of the MCU and will launch simultaneously in theatres and on Disney+ with Premier Access on July 9, 2021. The film stars Scarlett Johansson reprising her role as Natasha/Black Widow, Florence Pugh stars as Yelena, David Harbour portrays Alexei/The Red Guardian, and Rachel Weisz as Melina.
We have had a decade worth of Marvel films and television series. But this is the first time since her Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) appearance in Iron Man 2 that we will see her in a titular role. It’s been eleven years since Iron Man 2 and through the lens of the MCU very little is known about Natasha’s life prior to working with S.H.I.E.L.D and becoming an Avenger. Despite there being 57 years worth of comic book lore about Black Widow.
Why this movie might be too dark for young kids
There are only a handful of moments where her history is explained in the MCU. In Avengers: Age of Ultron Natasha is enchanted by Wanda Maximoff (Scarlett Witch) and made to remember darker moments of her past like her assassins training. It is a quick but scary moment where you see her forced to kill an unknown person and then taken into a room for a “graduation ceremony” where she is forced to have surgery that will keep her from having any children of her own.
These things are explored in much more depth in this new film. Natasha Romanoff grew up in the “Red Room” where she and many other children were being trained for the Black Widow program. This is what makes this film a little too dark and gritty for young children. There is no way to discuss Natasha Romanoff’s trauma without getting into the darkness of her past. And although the film has plenty of funny and light-hearted moments, a lot of the concepts in the film may be too much for an under 13 audience. Making Black widow a little too dark for young kids.
Check out the cosplay from the Black Widow Worldwide Fan Events
Looking back at Black Widow and her KGB, SHIELD and Avengers history
