Exclusive: Scarlett Johansson Returning In Three Upcoming Marvel Movies
Scarlett Johansson will return as Black Widow in three more Marvel movies.
Scarlett Johansson will be returning as Natasha Romanoff for three additional movies in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. According to our trusted and proven sources, the Black Widow actress will be back as the deceased Avenger in the future, though it is currently unclear what films she might be in. The return of Scarlett Johansson to Marvel does fit right in line with the studio’s current attempts to bring back the original stars of the franchise for cameos and to provide continuity.
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Scarlett Johansson’s return to Marvel for three future films can likely be narrowed down to several announced projects, two of which are the upcoming Infinity War/Endgame-style massive crossover Avengers movies. It feels almost certain that the sometimes-controversial actress will appear in some capacity in the upcoming Avengers: The Kang Dynasty and Avengers: Secret Wars, which are scheduled to premiere in 2025 and 2026, respectively. The paired movies are being promoted as the climax of the upcoming Multiverse Saga, which will pit Marvel’s superheroes against the might of Kang the Conqueror (Jonathan Majors).
Without a doubt, the Multiverse Saga will increasingly involve parallel versions of the heroes that we have become accustomed to (it’s called the Multiverse for a reason) and likely, characters that have already died in Marvel Cinematic Universe continuity. It feels extremely likely that, given Black Widow’s death recovering the Soul Gem in Avengers: Endgame, Scarlett Johansson will be brought back to Marvel via some combination of multiversal and/or time travel.
Of course, Black Widow has already returned, just not with Scarlett Johansson back at Marvel. An animated version of the character appeared in several episodes of the first season of Marvel’s What If…?, voiced by Lake Bell. Interestingly, this version of Natasha Romanoff was already presented as being from a parallel timeline (as opposed to the central 616 universe) and was transported to yet another reality at the end of the season finale. It is possible that we could see this Black Widow back again, albeit in live-action form.
However, all this does raise the question as to what is the third movie that Scarlett Johansson is returning to Marvel for. One likely candidate is Captain America: New World Order, which reportedly will already be bringing back Chris Evans as Steve Rogers for a brief appearance; Cap and Black Widow were already paired together in The Winter Soldier, so it would make some sense. Another is Thunderbolts, which will bring back Romanoff’s sister Yelena Belova (Florence Pugh) and father Red Guardian (David Harbour) as part of a team of not-quite-heroes, so there is a big connection there.
In the last several Phases, Marvel Studios seems to have been working hard to replace its original central core Avengers with new versions of the heroes (plus actors with less contractual demands). Anthony Mackie is the new Captain America, Hailee Steinfeld is the new Hawkeye, Tatiana Maslany is She-Hulk, Dominique Thorne is Ironheart, and the new Black Widow position is filled by Florence Pugh. But even with new variations on themes, it seems like Scarlett Johansson cannot be replaced by Marvel quite so easily.
