The More I Think About Scarlett Johansson's Comments About Black Widow's Marvel Future, The More I Agree With Her

Natasha looking out at a friend in Black Widow

(Image credit: Marvel Studios)

In the world of comic books, death is one thing that is almost never permanent, and the same has been proven true time and again in comic book movies. Having said that, don’t go looking for Scarlett Johansson’s Black Widow to come back from the dead anytime soon, as the actress has a pretty strong feeling about her character’s MCU future, or the lack thereof.

Considering all the Marvel characters that have died and returned in the past, and the expectations that the two upcoming Avengers movies are likely to be chalked full of characters, it certainly wouldn’t be crazy to see Scarlett Johansson’s Black Widow at least make a cameo, but ScarJo doesn’t mince words with InStyle, strongly indicating that won’t be happening. She said:

Natasha is dead. She is dead. She's dead. Okay? They just don't want to believe it. They’re like, ‘But she could come back!’ Look, I think the balance of the entire universe is held in her hand. We’re going to have to let it go. She saved the world. Let her have her hero moment.

There isn’t a lot of wiggle room left here. Johansson says, quite plainly, that Natasha is dead three times in a row, just to drive home the point. While it’s still possible that somebody could find a way to bring Natasha back, thus necessitating a request for Johansson to return, it certainly doesn’t sound like she’s looking for an excuse to come back.

And honestly, that’s fine. While there’s an expectation that most comic book characters who die won’t stay dead, there have also been those characters, like Peter Parker’s Uncle Ben, whose deaths have been of vital importance to the character and the story.

Natasha’s death in the MCU can, and perhaps should, be that for the Marvel Cinematic Universe. As the actress points out, her character’s death is basically holding the universe together, any attempt to undo it could potentially make the whole thing collapse. That gives the death a weight that will continue to make it important even down the road when the MCU has been watched by multiple generations, presumably with Disney+.

Scarlett Johasson's last official appearance was in the Black Widow movie which was released following the character's death in Avengers: Endgame, but told a prequel story that also introduced us to characters like the Red Guardians and her sister Yelena, who will both appear in the upcoming Marvel movie Thunderbolts*.

Of course, even all this doesn’t mean that Scarlett Johansson is absolutely done with the MCU. The other death, the one that also matters, has been undone sideways now that Robert Downey Jr. is returning to the franchise, simply playing a different character. In an infinite multiverse, ScarJo certainly could do something similar. The actress could conceivably return, the character, it seems not.

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CinemaBlend’s resident theme park junkie and amateur Disney historian, Dirk began writing for CinemaBlend as a freelancer in 2015 before joining the site full-time in 2018. He has previously held positions as a Staff Writer and Games Editor, but has more recently transformed his true passion into his job as the head of the site's Theme Park section. He has previously done freelance work for various gaming and technology sites. Prior to starting his second career as a writer he worked for 12 years in sales for various companies within the consumer electronics industry. He has a degree in political science from the University of California, Davis. Is an armchair Imagineer, Epcot Stan, Future Club 33 Member.