Following a report about an alleged crisis at Marvel Studios, which revealed that the studio isconsidering bringing back Scarlett Johansson’s Black Widowand Robert Downey Jr.’s Iron Man, the actress has now responded to these rumors. Johansson debuted in the Marvel Cinematic Universe back in 2010, joining Downey Jr. inIron Man 2as Natasha Romanoff. This marked the beginning of what would later become the first official lineup of the Avengers, with the two of them standing alongside Chris Evans' Captain America. Mark Ruffalo’s Hulk, Jeremy Renner’s Hawkeye and Chris Hemsworth’s Thor.
Although she only had her solo film as a prequel in 2021, Natasha’s narrative arc presented its closure in 2019’sAvengers: Endgame, when she sacrificed herself so that Clint Barton, aka Hawkeye could live. In that same movie, Tony Stark also sacrificed himself, meaning both characters have now said goodbye to the franchise. However, thanks to the emergence of the MCU multiverse, their return is not ruled out. Although, for theBlack Widowstar, it seems very unlikely.
In an interview on theToday Show, Johansson addressed recent rumors about a future appearance as Black Widow in the MCU:
“I think it might be… I think it was the end, right? I don’t know how you come back from that. […] She did, she did. She passed. […] I would have… it would be a miracle. It would be real Marvel miracle. It would be a marvel. But, you know, who knows? Eh… I’m not sure.”
Related:Why Bringing Back the Original Avengers Is a Bad Idea
The Future of the MCU Shouldn’t Depend on the Return of the Original Avengers
While nostalgia is always an element that works to appeal to the audience, bringing back the original Avengers as the main heroes of the MCU would be a big mistake. However, the appearance of new versions of characters belonging to alternative realities could be a good way for actors to appear again, for a limited time, without altering what happened to their original characters. This is likely to happen in the MCU, with variants of beloved heroes expected to join the current heroes of the saga in a major battle inthe upcoming sequelAvengers: Secret Wars.
Besides, if Marvel Studiosreally is looking to restart the franchiseafter the events of the last movie from “The Infinity Saga,” bringing all of its characters together in that big event could work very well. But there is no doubt that the future of the MCU is getting further and further away from that original team, and now has many new members that can work in similar ways. Whether it’s their direct heirs such as the Young Avengers, the X-Men, The Fantastic Four or even a very different team like Thunderbolts, there’s plenty to choose from without resorting to characters that have already completed their arc.
But for Marvel Studios, a studio that has always found new ways to bring back all kinds of characters from the past for current projects, there is always the possibility for the stars of the franchise to have a cameo in a series or film. So, at this stage, anything can happen.
