There Just Might Be a Future in the MCU for Natasha Romanoff After Black Widow

The Black Widow solo movie has always been something of an enigma. Why had it taken so long for founding Avenger Natasha Romanoff (Scarlett Johansson) to get her own movie? Why release it after her apparent death in Avengers: Infinity War? Is Natasha really dead or was it her “sister” Yelena Belova (Florence Pugh) who sacrificed herself on Vormir in some sort of Face/Off misdirect?

Questions and speculation about the movie have only compounded over the past year as Marvel shelved the movie due to the coronavirus. We’ll know the answer to many of those questions next week when the movie finally debuts in theaters, but it’s looking like Black Widow might not be the last we see of Natasha after all. In addition to hints in Loki that Vormir might be at the center of a “Nexus event” and therefore only a possible timeline, Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige said in a recent interview with ETonline that he is “excited to continue working with [Johansson],” implying that Black Widow’s demise might not be set in stone.

Feige went on to say that the movie was made “with the intention of exceeding expectations and fulfilling surprises” and he feels that Black Widow “elevates … the entire MCU.”

Black Widow was directed by Cate Shortland, from a script by Jac Schaeffer and Ned Benson. Florence Pugh also stars as Yelena Belova, with David Harbour as Alexei Shostakov, aka Red Guardian, Rachel Weisz as Melina Vostokoff and O-T Fagbenle as Rick Mason.

Black Widow explodes into theaters on July 9th!

Image courtesy of Disney/Marvel Studios