The Russo Brothers Think Black Widow Should Get Her Own Movie
When Marvel Studios announced that it was making room in Phase 3 for Ant-Man and The Wasp, I thought fans of Evangeline Lilly's character in Ant-Man would be happy (especially considering that film's post-credits scene), but another thought struck me: what about Black Widow? Kevin Feige and company have announced a Captain Marvel movie for 2019, but what about a solo film for Scarlett Johansson that fans have actually spent years clamoring for already? Johansson's star power is at an all-time high, the desire is there, a completed draft of a script is reportedly sitting in a vault somewhere in Marvel's offices...it sort of seems like a no-brainer, right?
I'm obviously not the only one who thinks that, but now we can add Captain America: Civil War and Avengers: Infinity War directors Anthony and Joe Russo to that list. In the same international press tour that yielded discussion about General Thunderbolt Ross and the Red Hulk that we wrote about this morning, the directors were asked if they'd be interested in a Black Widow solo movie if that's something Marvel ever decides to get off its ass and put into development:
“Oh yeah, we love that character,” Joe says. Anthony notes, “And we love Scarlett.” Joe elaborates:
"We find that the character is one of the richest, if not the richest, character in the Marvel universe. She’s a very complex character. She’s haunted by demons and her understanding of the world is fascinating. I think there is a lot that can be done with that character."
Considering how well another Disney property with a female lead, The Force Awakens, is currently doing at the box office, the ball is in Feige's court to finally make this happen for the fans who have been wanting it for years. (Relevant discussion starts at 6:30 in the video below.)