Scarlett Johansson Confirmed To Be Returning To The Marvel Universe?
Marvel loves "new beginnings", according to the head of the studio. What does that mean for Scarlett Johansson?
This article is more than 2 years old
Kevin Feige is a comic nerd, the president of Marvel Studios, and a big fan of hinting at things in interviews. Recently, he attended the Black Widow fan premiere in Los Angeles, spoke to ET, and made statements that were just enough to make fans curious. Everyone wants to know: will Black Widow be the last time we see Scarlett Johansson in character as Natasha Romanov? After Endgame, is Black Widow the final time we will see her on-screen? His answer left the door wide open, and heavily hinted that she’ll be coming through.
Kevin Feige first commented that Scarlett Johansson has been an amazing partner for the Marvel Cinematic Universe. He said that the MCU is all about “new beginnings”, which in the context of discussing Natasha Romanov and the MCU, makes it sound like her character may return from the dead as so many MCU characters do. However, that’s only a guess. He then said of Scarlett Johansson, “She was a producer on this film. She was the one that brought us our amazing director, Cate Shortland, and I am excited to continue working with her in any way possible if we’re so lucky.”
Oh, Kevin Feige. He does like to hint at possibilities. So, he is excited about the idea of continuing to work with her in some way, but he isn’t specifying what that “way” may be. He’s holding the door open to say that Scarlett Johansson may return, but isn’t saying what that could look like. This is a classic Marvel answer. The franchise doesn’t like to tell fans too much, they like to avoid spoilers. It’s entirely likely that Feige already knows exactly what the story future holds for the Marvel Cinematic Universe with Black Widow, but he isn’t ready to reveal that to audiences yet, so he isn’t telling us. He’s just saying, essentially, “It could happen.”
To make the possibility of a Scarlett Johansson return to the Marvel Cinematic Universe even more possible, he added, “Everything we make is hopefully with the intention of exceeding expectations and fulfilling surprises.” A return for Scarlett Johansson would be a surprise after Endgame, and that’s the point, right? Then he says, “Not every rumor you read about online is true, not by a long shot, but not every one is false either. So that’s the fun.”
Getting fans excited and wondering about the Marvel Cinematic Universe seems to be a highlight in Kevin Feige’s life. Honestly, it’s something a lot of fans love him for. As much as audiences want to know what’s coming, the slow rollout of information and always having more to look forward to with Marvel is part of the fun of being a superhero genre fan. There is so much source material from the comics, and Kevin Feige is a fan of them. It’s fun to guess what source material he’s looking at next and what we may end up seeing on screen soon. As for Scarlett Johansson, it sounds like he’s heavily hinting that the door is not closed.
It makes sense that Marvel won’t be revealing anything definite at this time. Black Widow releases soon. This is a look back at the origins of Scarlett Johansson’s character, taking place after Captain America: Civil War in the MCU timeline. Announcing that Natasha Romanov may soon return from the dead (or not) shouldn’t happen while we’re watching this story further back in her life.
Clearly, Marvel wants us to watch Black Widow while her Endgame death is still fresh in our minds. They want us to watch where she came from, while we know her character’s end. If they’re going to give her a “new beginning”, they don’t want us to know that until after we see Black Widow. Still, Kevin Feige is hinting heavily that this isn’t the end for Scarlett Johansson in Marvel movies. Is that just to get us to watch the movie, or because he doesn’t want to say it’s her last movie when it isn’t?
