Everyone's saying the same thing about the new 'Red Sparrow' trailer starring Jennifer Lawrence
A new trailer for Jennifer Lawrence’s spy thriller Red Sparrow has arrived, and everyone is saying the same thing: Isn’t this just a Black Widow rip-off?
The steamy new trailer shows J-Law as ballet dancer Dominika Egorova, a young woman drafted against her will into the Russian secret service to be a trained seductress.
“Dominika learns to use her body as a weapon, but struggles to maintain her sense of self during the dehumanising training process,” the official Red Sparrow synopsis explains.
“Finding her power in an unfair system, she emerges as one of the program’s strongest assets.”
It sounds very similar to the backstory of Natasha Romanova – Scarlett Johansson’s character in the Marvel movies – also known as Black Widow. A lot of her backstory has been glimpsed in the Marvel movies through flashbacks.
“Natasha was recruited to become part of the Black Widow Program, a team of elite female sleeper agents,” the Black Widow entry on Marvel.com’s Marvel Universe wiki reads. “Natasha studied as a ballerina to cover for her true occupation.”
The glaring similarity between the two – heck, even the names sound the same – coupled with Marvel Studios’ reluctance to give Black Widow her own solo film, has caused many to point out the apparent injustice on Twitter.
Jennifer Lawrence's FAKE ASS BLACK WIDOW looks good as hell.
— Sonny Bunch (@SonnyBunch) January 8, 2018
So Red Sparrow reminds me so much of the Red Room/Black Widow program. Like I see Jlaw’s character as a Yelena Belova. Why do I do this?
— casey snow (@thehazelbelle) January 8, 2018
So, Red Sparrow is basically just off brand Black Widow? Do tickets to this movie come with Vanilla Ice telling you why this isn't an IP violation? #RedSparrow #BlackWidow @20thcenturyfox @Marvel
— Brandon McKinnis (@ItsMcKinnis) January 8, 2018
@Marvel how does Red Sparrow get made with J Law and completely copying Black Widow …. but we STILL can't have an ACTUAL black widow movie???
— Erika P (@EPetrie13) January 8, 2018
I’m not the only one convinced that RED SPARROW is the Black Widow script Marvel refused to green light, am I?
— Miranda January (@writingmiranda) January 8, 2018
You have to admit, the similarities are uncanny, however the same thing can also be said about most male-led spy movies too in comparison to the James Bond films. How many modern spy movies don’t owe a debt of one kind or another to Ian Fleming’s 007?
Without Bond, there’d be no Jason Bourne, xXx, Kingsman, Salt, Atomic Blonde… the list goes on. Even the Mission: Impossible movies wouldn’t have been possible without the enduring legacy of Bond.
People comparing Red Sparrow to Black Widow, I don't see people comparing every spy movie starring MEN to James Bond
— Iris (@lawsonemilys) January 8, 2018
inspiration if I had to guess – because this sort of stuff is/has been real. (and a card in RS’s favour is that the author is former CIA also)
Both can co-exist, just as can James Bond and Ethan Hunt. The fact that they’re aimed at different audiences also helps.
— Anton Volkov (@antovolk) January 8, 2018
20th Century Fox’s Red Sparrow starring Jennifer Lawrence, Joel Edgerton, Matthias Schoenaerts, Jeremy Irons, Mary-Louise Parker, and Charlotte Rampling arrives in cinemas 2 March.
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