****THIS POST MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS ****
As Captain America: Civil War continues to storm the global box office, so the publicity surrounding the film also gathers steam. Now the movie is released in most major territories, talk turns to the future of the Marvel Cinematic Universe moving forward - not only to the events of the Avengers: Infinity War films, but also what (or, rather, who) might be the focus of Marvel’s Phase 4 films. At present, talk of a Black Widow solo movie seems to be an almost daily occurrence. While fans have hankered after this for a while, it seems like recently, Marvel Studios has really sat up and started to take notice.
First off, we had Kevin Fiege teasing the possibility of Black Widow landing her own film, saying that he felt that would be great at some point in the future. He went out of his way to point out that Marvel were focusing on the next nine movies to be made though; effectively shunting any hope for Scarlett Johansson’s starring role ahead of Phase 4. That didn’t deter fans though; in a poll taken of fans who had pre-purchased Civil War tickets, Black Widow topped the list for who they’d like to see in a standalone film, winning 48% of the votes. The results of the poll were swiftly followed up with comments made by Civil War directors Joe and Anthony Russo, who called the prospect of a Black Widow film a “no-brainer” and added that it was just a question of working out where on the slate it would go.
Now the Civil War screenwriters have also pitched in on the discussion, saying they think the character is ready for a solo movie after her character development in Civil War. Speaking to The Wrap, Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely pointed out the huge changes Johansson’s character has undergone since her MCU debut in Iron Man 2:
“That character’s journey, over her various appearances, is one coming out of the shadows and into the light. We met her as Natalie Rushman, a spy in Tony Stark’s camp, then she joins SHIELD and at the end of [Captain America: The Winter Solider] leaks all these secrets. She’s out as a good guy, and this is what it means to take on the responsibility of leadership."
At the end of Civil War, of course, we see Black Widow betraying Iron Man by helping Captain America escape. Black Widow now moves freely, with no fixed loyalty, which makes for an interesting set up were any solo movie to happen. Another possibility, of course, would be to give Johansson a shot at a Black Widow TV series. That could potentially draw in a wide ranging audience who might not usually head to theaters to watch a superhero film.
Either way, it really seems as though all this talk needs to lead to some action at long last. It’s all very well discussing and hinting at the possibility of things happening, but these discussions have come up before, and then faded away when Marvel fails to make anything concrete. Let’s hope this time, Marvel decides to take action - one way or another.
Captain America: Civil War is in theaters now, followed by Doctor Strange – November 4, 2016; Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 – May 5, 2017; Spider-Man: Homecoming – July 7, 2017; Thor: Ragnarok – November 3, 2017; Black Panther – February 16, 2018; Avengers: Infinity War Part 1 – May 4, 2018; Ant-Man and the Wasp – July 6, 2018; Captain Marvel – March 8, 2019; Avengers: Infinity War Part 2 – May 3, 2019; and as-yet untitled Marvel movies on July 12, 2019, and on May 1, July 10, and November 6 in 2020.
Source: The Wrap
