Director Says Black Widow Sequel Could Return Without Romanoff

The story is not yet over for the Black Widow universe, confides director Cate Shortland. It may just have to live on without Scarlett Johansson.

Making a standalone film for Black Widow scratched heads, especially one that does not disservice the sacrifice she made in Avengers: Endgame. Since bringing her back was not an option, like Loki, we had to travel back in time to savour another aspect of the Russian spy’s life.

Now, met with the question of whether the Black Widow legacy could go on further in film, Cate Shortland tells Radio Times in an exclusive interview, that if the franchise chose to follow another character, then the answer would be yes.

As Johansson herself made the decision of saying goodbye to her character and the franchise at large, word is that she wouldn’t mind if the Black Widow world she helped to create, made room for other characters to tell their own stories.

I think Scarlett is really happy that she’s leaving the party, you know, and she’s not the last to leave. She decided she wanted to go. And I don’t think she would want to come back at the moment.

Cate Shortland

It is also the thrill of directing such a large scale, superhero-fantasy come to life that keeps Shortland on the edge of wanting more. You can see it reflect in her enthusiasm here:

I think just creating something really fun and joyous is pretty addictive. So yeah, I would do it again. Yes. I feel really happy about it. Usually I feel dread when I have something coming out, but this time, I feel really happy. I think because it was such a group effort.

Cate Shortland

When asked about who she’d like Black Widow to hand on the baton to, her response is surprising – pointing to the Red Guardian Alexei played by David Harbour.

After all, a character who’s declared he wants to have a battle with Captain America would be pretty entertaining to watch on screen. Shortland laughs off her own answer, saying he might poo his pants, which we totally don’t want to see on-screen. “We’ll put in a diaper,” she finishes.

There is probable reason to believe we might hear more from Yelena, the younger “Widow sister” with the same amount of training as Romanoff. Florence Pugh was already spotted filming for Disney+’s Hawkeye.

Shortland states that for the Black Widow movie, Romanoff’s character was her main focus and hence hasn’t yet fleshed out the characters beyond the movie’s primary base.

As there are no definite plans drawn up, who would you like to see return from Black Widow?

About Black Widow

Black Widow is an upcoming American superhero film based on the Marvel Comics character of the same name. Produced by Marvel Studios and distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures, it is intended to be the 24th film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU).

Directed by Cate Shortland and written by Eric Pearson, the movie stars Scarlett Johansson as Natasha Romanoff alongside Florence Pugh, David Harbour, O-T Fagbenle, William Hurt, Ray Winstone, and Rachel Weisz.

It will be the first film in Phase Four of the MCU, and was delayed three times from an original May 2020 release date due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Disney confirms Marvel Studios’ Black Widow will release on Disney+ for no extra cost to existing subscribers after its Premier Access release, October 6.

The film follows Natasha Romanoff as she confronts the darker parts of her ledger when a dangerous conspiracy with ties to her past arises. Pursued by a force that will stop at nothing to bring her down, Natasha must deal with her history as a spy and the broken relationships left in her wake long before she became an Avenger.

Source: Radia Times