We’re One Step Closer To A BLACK WIDOW Movie
#WheresWidow? As of right now, she’s on screens all across the world in her fifth Marvel appearance, Captain America: Civil War, likely to become her third billion-dollar movie at the box office. Fans have been asking for more Natasha Romanoff, both on screen and in merchandise, ever since she became an integral part of the MCU in The Winter Soldier. And while the folks at Marvel seemed to be keeping us on the hook while responding to questions about a solo outing, it sounds like a Black Widow movie might actually happen this time. For realsies.
In a Q&A with Deadline, Marvel Studios head honcho Kevin Feige was asked about the likes of Widow, Hawkeye and Falcon, guest stars who’ve appeared in multiple entries but haven’t yet gotten their own films, to which he responded:
“We’ve announced the next nine movies, ten counting Civil War, through the end of 2019. Where we go beyond that are ongoing discussions that we’ll focus on in the next few years because we have a lot to do before then. Of the characters that you’ve just mentioned I would say certainly the one creatively and emotionally that we are most committing to doing is Black Widow.
We think she’s an amazing character. We think Scarlett Johansson’s portrayal of her is amazing. She’s a lead Avenger and has amazing stories in her own right to tell that we think would be fun to turn into a standalone franchise.”
Look, you know as well as I do that nothing’s set in stone, even after a green light and an official date, and Feige has said this sort of thing before during the lead up to Phase 3. So what makes this any different? Well for one thing, the language. It’s specific, and rather than discussing it as a possibility the same way a Howard The Duck movie is a possibility, he hints at ongoing discussions about giving Natasha her own film. Second, and most importantly, Marvel Studios has been significantly restructured since he last mentioned this.
With Ike Perlmutter and the Creative Comittee out of the way, this seems like a much more realistic outcome. Perlmutter was the one vetoing the Black Widow toys (as Devin notes), and the old model was also a significant hurdle to diversity. With both actors and filmmakers happier under Disney, you can presume Scarlett Johannson might be more likely to sign on for one of these. I believe Kevin Feige when he says he’s emotionally invested in making this happen. Black Widow is one of the most interesting characters in the MCU, and Civil War just proved you don’t need to destroy a city to sell a superhero movie.
This isn’t ‘official’ official, but it’s a positive sign from the most official source.
P.S. This quote from him during the same Q&A is also worth noting:
“…we want people to watch our films and see themselves reflected in the heroes, in the villains, in the story lines. That means being as diverse as our world is. I’m a giant Star Trek fan. You know what IDIC means? It was Gene Roddenbery’s mantra, infinite diversity in infinite combinations. I think that’s just the facts of our world right now.”
Here’s hoping Marvel follows through!
