'Black Widow' Star David Harbour Describes Suiting Up As A Superhero Like Having "The Best Halloween Costume On The Block"
Black Widow isn't David Harbour's first superhero rodeo, not if you count his starring role in the 2019 Hellboy reboot. That film was a critical and commercial disappointment, and the otherwise affable Harbour has since attributed its failure to "the loudness of the Internet," with its scores of angry fans who hold the two Guillermo del Toro and Ron Perlman movies as sacrosanct. Black Widow sees Harbour costumed in crimson again as Alexei Shostakov, AKA Red Guardian, the Russian equivalent of Captain America in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. You would think that donning demon horns as Hellboy would be enough to get a guy in the Halloween spirit, but it's really this year's costume, not 2019's costume, that had him vibing that way.
Speaking to CinemaBlend, Harbour talked about how suiting up as Red Guardian had him geeking out:
"It's very special. I mean, you'd seen sketches and all that stuff, and then they build [the costume] and they bring it to you, prototype occasionally for the helmet stuff. And then they bring it to you and they present it to you, and you put it on. And it, I mean, I tried to be cool. I try to be cool and cynical about a lot of this stuff, and then you show up and you actually put it on. And there was like... Even my icy heart had a big, light bubbling joy in it. And it was like a little five-year-old, like you're a five-year-old with the best Halloween costume on the block. ... I mean, I was giggling, I was so excited. You know, all this stuff you see in the movie where he comes out and he's like, 'Still fits.' ... I mean, that stuff was just me. It's just... There's no acting involved. It's just me thinking I look great and them all laughing at me. But you could not convince me in my psychotic break that I did not look phenomenal in that."
The Future of Red Guardian in the MCU
While superhero film buffs might be inclined to compare and contrast Harbour as Hellboy and Red Guardian, it's his portrayal of the latter character that likely has a better chance of a future on the big or small screen. Just recently, he spoke about wanting to see a Red Guardian vs. Captain America origin story, exploring the super-soldier arms race that led to the creation of these two heroes, whose flag-inspired costumes paint them as opposing emblems of Russia and the U.S.
It seems Red Guardian has a tendency to embellish his stories, however, and in MCU continuity, the original Cap, Steve Rogers, was on ice during the Cold War. Still, Harbour's character could always tangle with the new Cap, Sam Wilson, played by Anthony Mackie.
Black Widow currently sits at 84% on the Tomatometer, but our own review of the film this week was less enthused, calling it "too little too late" and "a big disappointment." Yet that review cites Florence Pugh's performance as a highlight and it looks like Marvel might be grooming her to take over from Scarlett Johannson as the new Black Widow. Roping Red Guardian into her adventures might provide Harbour with an opportunity to suit up in red again as everyone's new favorite Russian super-soldier.Black Widow hits theaters and Disney+ Premier Access on July 9.