Black Widow: David Harbour Teases Introduction of the Winter Guard

Following yesterday’s release of new character posters for Black Widow, Stranger Things star David Harbour took to Instagram to share the Red Guardian poster in order to further promote the film. To MCU fans who aren’t familiar with the Marvel comics, his post may not seem like a big deal, but comic fans who have more knowledge about the character’s background would clearly know that Harbour has seemingly confirmed a major detail about Marvel Studios’ long-delayed movie.

In his Instagram caption which you can check out below, the 46-year-old not only mentioned Scarlett Johansson’s Natasha Romanoff and Florence Pugh’s Yelena, but he also name-dropped Ursa Major, Crimson Dynamo, and Sputnik, teasing that fans should expect to see the live-action debut of the Winter Guard.

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In the comics, the Winter Guard was Russia’s answer to the Avengers. The prominent members of the Russian superhero team were: Ursa Major, a mutant who can transformed into a bear; Crimson Dynamo, Russia’s equivalent to Iron Man; Vostok/Sputnik, a robot with the power to control machines; and Red Guardian.

Set between the events of Captain America: Civil War and Avengers: Infinity War, the film follows Natasha Romanoff aka Black Widow as she confronts the darker parts of her ledger when a dangerous conspiracy with ties to her past arises. Pursued by a force that will stop at nothing to bring her down, Natasha must deal with her history as a spy and the broken relationships left in her wake long before she became an Avenger.

The film features a star-studded ensemble cast led by Oscar nominee Scarlett Johansson, whose character was last seen by during Avengers: Endgame, where she sacrificed her life in order for Jeremy Renner’s Clint Barton/Hawkeye to obtain the Soul stone in Vormir.

Joining her are Golden Globe nominee David Harbour as Alexei aka The Red Guardian, Oscar nominee Florence Pugh as Yelena Belova, Academy Award-winning actress Rachel Weisz as Melina, Ray Winstone as Dreykov, head of The Red Rom, and O-T Fagbenle as Mason.

The movie was directed by Cate Shortland (Lore) from a script written by Jac Schaeffer (The Hustle). Black Widow is set to hit theaters and Disney+ Premier Access simultaneously on July 9, which will be over a year after its original release date.