Fans of the Marvel Cinematic Universe are still waiting to bid a fond farewell to Scarlett Johansson’s Natasha Romanoff after Black Widow was hit with two hefty delays as a result of the Coronavirus pandemic, although a leaked promo may have confirmed the first movie in Phase Four could be heading exclusively to Disney Plus via the Premier Access model that saw Niki Caro’s Mulan reportedly earn more from streaming sales than Christopher Nolan’s Tenet did in theaters.
Plot-wise, we still don’t know a whole lot about what to expect, but the smart money is on Florence Pugh’s Yelena Belova inheriting the mantle and becoming the MCU’s newest leather-clad operative, something that’s pretty much been confirmed by director Cate Shortland. After spending a decade as an integral part of the shared universe’s fabric since the earliest days of Phase One, though, the franchise continuing on without Natasha is going to take some getting used to.
However, we’ve now heard from our sources – the same ones that told us The Falcon and the Winter Soldier would be delayed long before it was confirmed – that Johansson might not be done with the MCU after all. According to our intel, the studio are planning to give Black Widow villain Taskmaster his own spinoff series on Disney Plus, and they’re hoping that they can convince the actress to return for the project in some capacity.
Although further details are unclear, and we still don’t even officially know who plays the bad guy in the movie despite all signs pointing firmly towards O-T Fagbenle’s Rick Mason, there’ve been rumors in recent months that the mercenary could become a recurring character in the future. And while the Taskmaster show would need to either be a prequel to a prequel or restrict Johansson’s involvement to flashbacks, it’s starting to look like Black Widow may end up being less of a goodbye and more of a see you later.
