How The Russo Brothers Feel About Marvel’s Black Widow Movie

Black Widow in Age of Ultron

The Marvel Cinematic Universe is coming upon a precipice. Following the untitled Avengers 4 movie, the next phase of films is all but a mystery. And with many of the shared universe's leading actors approaching the end of their contracts, it's unclear who will sign on for more projects, and which characters will be written off. One of the potential new projects on the horizon is the long awaited Black Widow movie, which is in the earliest stages of development and conceptualization. While the fandom is universally thrilled about the possible movie, what do the Russo Brothers think? Joe Russo recently spoke to the film, saying:

Yeah, we're very happy for that. I mean it's such a rich and interesting character. There's so much to explore with a character whose history was as a villain, and you know, Scarlett does such a good job of playing that character and people are so used to that character that you forget the character's history, and so there's a lot of compelling stories to tell about someone who has a dark past.

While The Russo Brothers are likely leaving the Marvel Cinematic Universe after finishing out Avengers 4, they seem happy about a possible Black Widow movie coming down the pipeline. So add them to the long list of fans who are ready for Scarlett Johansson's character to finally get the spotlight she deserves.

Joe Russo's comments from the Happy Sad Confused podcast echo what cinephiles and comic fans have been saying for years. Given that the mysterious character has one of the most complex histories in the entire shared universe, the potential for storytelling with a solo film is seemingly limitless. While we got a taste of Natasha's sordid past in Avengers: Age of Ultron, audiences have never really been able to get into her head.

Scarlett Johansson is also one of the original Avengers members who still haven't gotten their own solo film. Alongside Mark Ruffalo's Hulk and Jeremy Renner's Hawkeye, Black Widow has continued to be a supporting character as new franchises began. Luckily movies like Captain America: Winter Soldier featured her heavily, allowing her to remain at the forefront of the MCU.

Of course, development Marvel are still at the earliest stages, and there's no guarantee that Black Widow's movie will come to fruition. As of now, there's officially only a writer attached in the form of Jac Schaffer. There have also been some reports of Scarlett Johansson being involved in the development of the film, and reportedly inking a deal for some major bucks. Now that her contract is up, Johansson would be able to negotiate for way more money, if the Black Widow movie ends up happening.

You can watch Scarlett Johansson return to the MCU with Avengers: Infinity War on May 4th, 2018. In the meantime, check out our 2018 release list to plan your trips to the movies this year.

Corey Chichizola
Movies Editor

Corey was born and raised in New Jersey. Graduated with degrees theater and literature from Ramapo College of New Jersey. After working in administrative theater for a year in New York, he started as the Weekend Editor at CinemaBlend. He's since been able to work himself up to reviews, phoners, and press junkets-- and is now able to appear on camera with some of his favorite actors... just not as he would have predicted as a kid. He's particularly proud of covering horror franchises like Scream and Halloween, as well as movie musicals like West Side Story. Favorite interviews include Steven Spielberg, Spike Lee, Jamie Lee Curtis, and more.