Red Sparrow director Francis Lawrence addresses comparisons to Black Widow

Last Updated on July 30, 2021

Since her debut in IRON MAN 2, Marvel fans have been clamouring for a BLACK WIDOW movie, but, for whatever reason, the studio has been dragging their feet. However, at long last, the BLACK WIDOW film is slowly moving forward now that they've tapped Jac Schaeffer to pen the script, but some believe that the upcoming RED SPARROW may have beaten them to the punch. Director Francis Lawrence recently spoke with ScreenRant about the comparisons between his film and Black Widow's (Scarlett Johansson) back-story.

There’s people who think it’s very similar to the Black Widow story. This is not pulled from BW, this is pulled from Red Sparrow, you know, it’s just like written by a guy who was in the CIA. It’s like, his references are coming from a very very different place from that. But there’ll always be that. People like to put things in boxes, and I think is a really unique film. This is a thriller, it’s not action, again it’s not gadgety. It’s a hard-R. There’s violence, it’s a bit perverse, it’s suspenseful, a lot of intrigue. It ‘s a very different kind of spy film.

It's still far too early to tell what sort of film BLACK WIDOW could be, but it's a safe bet that it won't be a hard-R spy thriller. With the inclusion of ballet and a secret training school, it's easy to see how the story of Dominika Egorova (Jennifer Lawrence) parallels the Black Widow story, but based on what we've seen, plus Francis Lawrence's assurances, I doubt that RED SPARROW has spoiled BLACK WIDOW.

The official synopsis for RED SPARROW:

Dominika Egorova is many things. A devoted daughter determined to protect her mother at all costs. A prima ballerina whose ferocity has pushed her body and mind to the absolute limit. A master of seductive and manipulative combat. When she suffers a career-ending injury, Dominika and her mother are facing a bleak and uncertain future. That is why she finds herself manipulated into becoming the newest recruit for Sparrow School, a secret intelligence service that trains exceptional young people like her to use their bodies and minds as weapons. After enduring the perverse and sadistic training process, she emerges as the most dangerous Sparrow the program has ever produced. Dominika must now reconcile the person she was with the power she now commands, with her own life and everyone she cares about at risk, including an American CIA agent who tries to convince her he is the only person she can trust.

RED SPARROW will hit theaters on March 2, 2018.