Marvel's 'Black Widow' Movie Begins Shooting In Norway With An Intriguing Working Title
Black Widow entered the Marvel Cinematic Universe in 2010 with a debut in Iron Man 2, but it took nine years for the character to get her own movie.
Production has begun on Black Widow over in Norway under the working title of "Blue Bayou." The small village of Sæbø, in Sunnmøre on the western coast of Norway, is the first location being used for the production. Funnily enough, rumors initially thought the influx of production vehicles and crew was for the new James Bond movie, but once the "Blue Bayou" production signs were spotted on trailers, that confirmed it was Black Widow. But does that working title mean anything?
We won't post any of the photos of the production trailers situated in Norway for filming (spotted by local blog Out of Dave's Head), but the signs with the title Blue Bayou have been designed to have the English words look like Russian text. As for the title's meaning, we can only guess at its significance.
Our own theme park-obsessed Peter Sciretta reminded us that Disneyland has a restaurant called Blue Bayou that ties in with the Pirates of the Caribbean attraction in the park. It has cajun and creole cuisine and has been a popular dining spot ever since Disneyland opened in 1967. But unless Black Widow has some meaningful tie to New Orleans or Pirates of the Caribbean, it's unlikely that there's anything connection there.
One possibility is that it could be a reference to the famous song "Blue Bayou," first recorded by Roy Orbison in 1963. The song went on to become a signature tune by Linda Ronstadt after she recorded a cover in 1977 that hit the Billboard charts. If you check out the lyrics, the sadness at the center of the song is something that could resonate with Black Widow as a character. Maybe it's even something she listened to in her childhood.
It's not hard to imagine "Blue Bayou" being a place in Natasha Romanoff's mind, perhaps one where she wasn't raised to be a lethal assassin. After all, the local press in Norway are suggesting that Sæbø and nearby Bondalen may be used as Natasha's childhood home in Russia.
But then again, the working titles for movies don't necessarily mean anything about the movie itself. Spider-Man: Homecoming and Spider-Man: Far From Home went by the working titles "The Fall of George" and "Bosco," and those are merely references to Seinfeld episodes that don't have any connection to the movie's story. So "Blue Bayou" could just be a reference to the song that someone loves and doesn't mean anything besides that.
What we do know is that Scarlett Johansson is back as Black Widow, and she'll be joined by Florence Pugh, Rachel Weisz and David Harbour. The movie is being directed by Cate Shortland with a script by Captain Marvel writer Jac Schaeffer. We're not sure exactly when it will arrive, but more than likely it will take either the May 1, 2020 or November 6, 2020 release dates that Marvel Studios has already staked out. Stay tuned for more soon.