The Marvel Cinematic Universe is a vast, sprawling landscape of heroes, villains, and morally ambiguous characters caught somewhere in the middle. Not every character can receive a movie, but there are certainly individuals who deserve one. With that in mind, Jeremy Renner recently admitted that he's onboard to do a Black Widow/Hawkeye team-up movie with Scarlett Johansson, and we think it's time for Marvel Studios to take that idea seriously.
There are about a million different reasons why this project should materialize, so we combed through the greater MCU lore and came up with five very distinct arguments as to why a Black Widow/Hawkeye movie is a good idea. Check out our reasons and let us know what you think of this idea in the comments section below. Without any further delay, let's kick this list off with a topic that has been touched upon (but never fully addressed) since 2012.
They Have Obvious History Together
"It's just like Budapest all over again." That one quintessentially Joss Whedon line from The Avengers told fans everything that they needed to know about Black Widow and Hawkeye; they have worked together for years, and they have been through the wringer more times than they can count. The MCU has done an excellent job with regards to establishing a connection and mythology between these two heroes, and we think it is time for a story that genuinely explores that history. Aside from the Budapest reference and the fact that Hawkeye convinced Widow to defect to S.H.I.E.L.D, we don't know much. Out of all the characters in the current Avengers line-up, they are the two whose stories have been waiting in the wings longer than anybody else. What the hell happened to them during their trip to Hungary? It's time for us to find out.
It Would Allow Marvel To Make A Small-Scale Movie
It has become a well-established fact that Marvel's movies have continued to grow and grow over the course of the last few years. As much as we love spectacle, we think that it's time for a Marvel movie that takes a legitimately small-scale look at comic book action. A movie centering on Black Widow and Hawkeye wouldn't need to be an enormous and bombastic CGI-fest; it would just need some well-executed fight scenes, some tense espionage, and some killer buddy-movie dialogue. This potential movie presents Marvel Studios with the distinct ability to strip away everything we think we know about an MCU movie, and that alone is worth the price of admission. After all, we can only watch a city get destroyed so many times before we become numb to the process.
It Keeps Average Humans Relevant In The MCU
I will admit, Natasha Romanoff and Clint Barton are not necessarily what we would consider "average" people in the real world, but you get the idea. The Marvel Cinematic Universe has a tendency to spend a little too much time focusing exclusively on individuals with extraordinary abilities. Establishing a cohesive superhero universe is a tightly orchestrated balancing act. You want to seemingly impossible characters performing outlandish feats of strength and agility, but you don't want to make human characters seem insignificant. That is one of the reasons why Batman has always been such an asset for DC Comics. By giving Black Widow and Hawkeye a movie to show off their insane (yet relatively realistic) skill sets, Marvel can reaffirm the relevance of well-trained, disciplined humans within the greater Marvel Cinematic Universe.
It Would Be A Waste Not To Expand On Their Age Of Ultron Arcs
For all of its faults, Avengers: Age of Ultron did one paramount thing for Black Widow and Hawkeye: it fleshed out their backstories and gave us far more reasons to care about them. For Natasha, her dark history with the KGB, and her feelings about being a monster due to the Black Widow program's (highly controversial) sterilization process presented an incredibly unique opportunity to explore some dark territory. On the other hand, the reveal of Clint's family and home life made him one of the most empathetic Avengers. These plot threads are too rich to let go of without further exploration, and a Black Widow/Hawkeye movie could examine both of them with all of the depth and tonal diversity that fans want from each of these heroes.
If They Don't Do It Soon, It Will Never Happen
This last point admittedly applies very specifically to half of this duo. If a Black Widow/Hawkeye team-up movie doesn't come to fruition at some time in the very near future, then Jeremy Renner may find himself too old to play the character. He clearly takes good care of himself (you have to when portraying a Marvel superhero) but he will be pushing 50 years old by the time Phase 3 comes to an end, and Hawkeye is an insanely physical role. There's always the possibility that Marvel could eventually recast these characters and reboot the characters of Black Widow and Hawkeye with younger actors, but if Scarlett Johansson and Jeremy Renner do not team up for a movie soon, they likely won't make one at all.
