Is Avengers 4 Revisiting The Opening Of Captain America: Civil War?

Since her debut in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Scarlett Johansson's Black Widow has rocked a number of different looks. In fact, every appearance she's made has featured her sporting a noticeably altered hairstyle - the most notable to date being the blonde locks she is rocking in The Avengers: Infinity War. At this point the style changes have become part of what we come to expect from the heroine - which makes us wonder why the latest Avengers 4 set photos have her wearing her exact same clothes from the beginning of Captain America: Civil War:

Stunt performer Heidi Moneymaker has been doubling as Black Widow since Iron Man 2, and she recently posted an interesting collection of images from the set of Avengers 4 on her personal Instagram page. With the production wrapping up, Moneymaker wanted to give thanks to her frequent collaborator, and in doing so revealed an interesting costume choice for Scarlett Johansson. In case you didn't recognize it, that hairstyle and beige jacket was featured during that Lagos fight scene in Captain America: Civil War, where The Avengers were on a mission to try and stop the heist of a potential biological weapon.

You can refresh your memory of Captain America: Civil War by watching the clip below:

So that leaves us with the big question: why is Black Widow wearing that familiar costume? We have seen evidence of other major moments from the history of the Marvel Cinematic Universe being recreated for The Avengers 4 (including the team's assembly during the Battle of New York), so this definitely fits in with that - and leaves us with two big guesses: flashbacks or time travel. In the case of the former, a non-linear narrative would make a certain degree of sense, given that the film is meant to be a capstone and reflection of every MCU title that came before it. In the case of the latter, we already know time travel is possible thanks to the Eye of Agamotto a.k.a. The Time Stone in Doctor Strange, so characters going forward and backward in time is certainly on the table for the blockbuster.

It will likely be a long, long time before we get any specific answers, given that The Avengers 4 won't be out until summer 2019. Thankfully we will be seeing the first half of the story its telling in just a few months, with The Avengers: Infinity War arriving in theaters on May 4, 2018. There will surely be plenty more for us to speculate about between now and then, so be sure to stay tuned for the latest Marvel updates.