Things went a bit south following the conclusion of the Infinity Saga, with Disney and Marvel rapidly expanding the MCU, producing plenty of content at the expense of its quality. This came back to bite them, and the company soon canceled a whole slew of titles, opting to shift its focus from quantity to quality once again. However, the damage has been done. Were it not for Deadpool & Wolverine, the MCU would’ve sunk. People just lost interest in the MCU, mostly due to a noticeable decline in quality but also due to a lack of cohesive storytelling and the departure of iconic characters.
But desperate times call for desperate measures, and Disney and Marvel decided to play their aces and call upon Robert Downey Jr. and Chris Evans to return to the franchise — albeit attached to different roles. RDJ is going to portray Victor von Doom in the upcoming Doomsday (as we previously discussed) and Chris Evans reprised the role of the Human Torch in Deadpool & Wolverine. In the most recent and quite surprising news, actor Scarlett Johansson is, once again, attached to an MCU project — though in a somewhat different capacity.
This raises many questions regarding the potential return of ‘s Black Widow to the MCU, especially after the tumultuous legal disputes between Johansson and Disney. For those with foggy memories, Scarlett Johansson’s Natasha Romanoff (AKA Black Widow) was a major part of the MCU. The character first appeared as a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent in 2010’s Iron Man 2 and became one of the founding members of the Avengers before Johansson’s portrayal concluded with Black Widow’s heroic sacrifice in Avengers: Endgame.
Following the conclusion of the Infinity Saga, the MCU released 2021’s Black Widow, which follows the titular character’s adventures after the events of Captain America: Civil War and explores her personal history. However, unlike previous MCU releases, Disney opted to give Black Widow simultaneous theatrical and streaming releases. This didn’t sit well with Johansson, who, just two days after the movie was released in the United States, filed a lawsuit against Disney, alleging that the company had breached a stipulation in her contract that the film would be a theatrical exclusive.
Disney’s decision to give Black Widow a simultaneous release effectively exempted the company from paying massive box office bonuses to Johansson, as her compensation was contractually tied to the film’s box office performance. In other words, the simultaneous release reduced her potential earnings. Disney resorted to their usual media tactics, which notable industry names condemned and characterized as gender-shaming and public bullying. Reportedly, even Kevin Feige was angered and embarrassed by Disney’s handling of the situation.
The lawsuit was settled in September 2021 under undisclosed terms, with various reports suggesting that Johansson received over $40 million from Disney. The Black Widow actor has since reiterated that she will not reprise her role, stating, “She is dead. She’s dead. Okay?” Obviously, she was referring to Natasha Romanoff. While her absence from the upcoming Avengers: Doomsday cast aligns with her decision to move on, time and sizable financial compensations heal most grievances in business. Both Johansson and Disney have expressed a desire to continue their collaboration on future projects.
But how does this reflect on the possible appearance of Black Widow? Well, that remains to be seen. While Johansson is once again associated with the MCU, the character she portrayed remains absent from announced releases. The introduction of the Multiverse doesn’t exclude the possibility of Johansson portraying a variant of the Black Widow in future releases. We wouldn’t be surprised to see her cameo in the upcoming Thunderbolts* movie, which features her Black Widow co-stars Florence Pugh, David Harbour, and Olga Kurylenko.
Additionally, she might even make an appearance in major projects such as Avengers: Doomsday or Avengers: Secret Wars despite not being officially featured in any cast lists — something we’ve gotten used to seeing from Marvel. The writers could easily leverage Adam Warlock’s powers and his mastery of the Soul Stone to access the Soulworld (as he had done in the comics) and bring back those who had sacrificed themselves for the Stone in the past. Of course, this could set some serious cosmic repercussions into motion, setting the stage for future MCU releases.
In the end, Black Widow has more than a small spider’s chance of returning for Avengers: Doomsday, despite Scar-Jo’s legal disputes with Disney. However, whether or not she does return is up to the greatest of all forces in the MCU: the writers. Given the current state of the MCU and Disney’s attempt to round up all the original Avengers for one last mission: saving the sinking ship that is the MCU, there’s really no reason to exclude the possibility of seeing Scarlett Johansson performing her fighting pose once again. We’d also like to see Florence Pugh’s Yelena Belova make fun of her pose once again, too.