While we'll finally be getting solo movies for Wonder Woman and Captain Marvel - the latter of whom was confirmed to be played by Brie Larson at San Diego Comic Con over the weekend - we're still waiting for Black Widow to get her standalone due. Joss Whedon directed Scarlett Johansson's superspy in two Avengers movies, and despite leaving the Marvel fold after Age of Ultron he revealed that he'd relish an opportunity to delve deeper into the character:
"If somebody pointed to me and said, ‘You want to make a Black Widow movie?’ the answer would be ‘Duh.’", Whedon told IGN. "For two reasons: I think that character really is very interesting and very earthbound and so it’s the kind of action that I got to do less of with somebody like Thor or The Vision. When you get into your Superman territory it’s harder to maintain that sort of gritty action that the Russo brothers do so beautifully. And she’s got that kind of thing… and really do a spy thriller, really do a good, paranoid sort of John LeCarré on crack sort of thing. Also, Scarlett Johansson is just delightful. She works really hard, but she just spends most of her time cracking me up, so it would be a fun shoot".
Making the Black Widow movie a spy thriller - a genre mashup that Marvel haven't tried yet - is a really smart call, and having left Team Iron Man during Captain America: Civil War Natasha is an a really interesting place right now.
The only problem is that it's currently a little tough to see where Marvel would find the time for a Black Widow movie. Their 'Phase Three' schedule is pretty stacked for the next couple years - they have three movies coming out in 2017 and 2018 already - so if Johansson and Whedon ever do get their solo movie it probably won't be until 'Phase Four'. I don't see the demand for a Black Widow movie dissipating between now and then though, so here's hoping Marvel are as committed as they say they are when it comes to delivering the goods.
Directed by Joe Russo and Anthony Russo, and starring Chris Evans, Robert Downey, Jr., Scarlett Johansson, Chadwick Boseman, Tom Holland, Anthony Mackie, and Sebastian Stan, Captain America: Civil War arrives in digital format in the US on September 2. The Blu-ray, Blu-ray 3D, and DVD hit the UK on September 5 and the US on September 13.
Images: Marvel
