Is Black Widow going to hold a significant role in phase 4 and phase 5 of the MCU? Let’s find out Black Widow’s future in Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Natasha Romanoff a.k.a. Black Widow was a crucial member of the MCU since the early days of the MCU. Making her debut in Iron Man 2, Black Widow’s role became more and more important and she went on to become one of the founding members of the MCU’s Avengers team. Though she faced a little mockery for being without superpowers her contributions in every movie were meaningful regardless of the battle we take into account.
Whether we talk about the battle of New York in the “Avengers” where she was the one who figured out the need to close the portal in order to stop the invasion, or the battle of Sokovia in “Avengers: Age of Ultron” in which she got Dr. Banner on board to join the fight as the Hulk, or the airport battle in “Captain America: Civil War” where she was the only member of Team Iron Man to realize that Cap was right and switch teams mid-battle and ultimately became one of the people who contributed in Cap and Bucky’s escape.
No matter the time, Black Widow was always there to help her team and, in the end, she even laid down her life to helping the Avengers restore the lives that were lost to Thanos’ snap. The MCU felt the need to tell her story, to show everyone that there was more to Natasha’s story than just the Avengers and so she got her very own movie. After numerous delays due to the COVID- 19 pandemic, the Black Widow movie is finally coming to cinemas and to Disney+ on July 9. But will that be it for Ms. Romanoff?
Is Black Widow’s time in the MCU over?
Black Widow is currently dead in the MCU after she sacrificed her life for the Soul Stone. According to the official reports, the Black Widow movie will be set in the time between the events of Captain America: Civil War and Avengers: Infinity War, the time during which the hero was on run from the government. So is Black Widow going to be the last time we see Scarlett Johansson in action. As the movie is going to revolve around her battle with the Red Room and Task Master, there is still a lot that we don’t know about her origin.
Therefore, the MCU should think about making more Black Widow movies, gradually revealing the path that Natasha took to finally become a hero. MCU can also revive her character to star in future projects that are set in the current time. This won’t be the first time when MCU revives a dead character as this has been witnessed before with Paul Bettany’s Vision and Tom Hiddleston’s Loki. Also, with time travel now being a thing in the MCU, her return is entirely possible, it is just a matter of initiative to do so and that is a “BIG IF”. Therefore, Black Widow’s future in the MCU remains uncertain with very few things known.
The co-writer of Black Widow, Jac Schaeffer, recently revealed to ComicBook.com that she is not sure of the future that awaits Johansson’s character.
“Well, you know I was lucky enough to jump on board the Black Widow train when it first left the station, and then I moved on to WandaVision and several other very talented writers picked up the pen and continued on, so, I can’t actually speak to the totality of Black Widow other than to say I’m so excited for it to come out,” she said.
Although Black Widow’s future hangs in uncertainty, she is setting up the path for others to take their place in the MCU, like Florence Pugh’s Yelena Belova, who will make her debut from the Black Widow movie and then going to appear in the Hawkeye Disney+ series. The fans would definitely like to see more of Scarlett Johansson as the Black Widow and hence the Marvel Studios should consider making it happen.
