There’s probably no point in the Marvel Cinematic Universe killing off any of its characters anymore, because as soon as it happens, the speculation begins building over a return. Chris Evans may have played dumb, but it was the reputable Deadline who broke the news that the actor was officially in talks to reprise his career-defining role as Steve Rogers in at least one future movie/TV show.
As for the franchise’s other dearly departed marquee name, it feels as though barely a week goes by without at least one rumor linking Robert Downey Jr. to any number of the 25 Marvel Studios projects currently in various stages of development, and even some that don’t exist. Meanwhile, audiences haven’t had a chance to bid farewell to Scarlett Johansson’s Natasha Romanoff yet after Black Widow was delayed by an entire year, but already there’s talk that the actress’ tenure in the MCU is far from over.
Obviously, the former S.H.I.E.L.D. operative is dead in the main timeline and her long-awaited solo debut is a prequel set directly after the events of Captain America: Civil War, so we know that she’ll make it out alive. Florence Pugh’s Yelena Belova is confirmed for at least one upcoming Disney Plus show as well, apparently making it pretty clear that she’ll be the new Black Widow moving forward, something that was already alluded to by director Cate Shortland.
However, the latest report from Giant Freakin Robot says that Johansson will still be back one day, but offers no further details at this stage as to when or where. People used to get killed off in franchises and that was the end of it, but the introduction of the MCU’s multiverse will inevitably see everyone that’s met their demise in one of the studio’s movies find themselves pegged for a return.
