Marvel Studios needs to ensure that Black Widow's MCU legacy is protected in Phase 5's Thunderbolts. Kevin Feige revealed the primary cast for Thunderbolts at 2022's D23 Expo, with Florence Pugh, David Harbour, Sebastian Stan, Wyatt Russell, Hannah John-Kamen, Olga Kurylenko, and Julia Louis-Dreyfus set to reprise their roles from previous MCU projects. Thunderbolts' storyline has been kept under wraps at Marvel Studios, but with Harrison Ford ing the cast as General Thaddeus "Thunderbolt" Ross, replacing the late William Hurt, the film is building up to be an epic adventure for the MCU's premiere antihero team.
Thunderbolts has been billed as a sequel to both Captain America: New World Order and Black Widow, with both Jac Schaeffer and Eric Pearson returning after co-writing on Black Widow before its apparent spiritual sequel, Thunderbolts. More characters from Black Widow are also being included than from any other MCU installment, since Yelena Belova (Pugh), Alexei Shostakov, a.k.a. Red Guardian (Harbour), Taskmaster (Kurylenko), and Valentina Allegra de Fontaine (Louis-Dreyfus) all made appearances in the Phase 4 film. These characters all shared an intense connection to the MCU's Natasha Romanoff, a.k.a. Black Widow, so there's a huge challenge for Marvel Studios to overcome during Thunderbolts' production.
Black Widow’s MCU Legacy Needs To Be Respected
Scarlett Johansson debuted as Romanoff in Iron Man 2, going on to have an incredibly fruitful career in the MCU as one of the six original Avengers. The original Avengers team's overarching storyline came to a head in Avengers: Endgame, which saw Tony Stark snap his fingers to eliminate Thanos, Steve Rogers retire as Captain America, and Romanoff sacrifice herself to allow the surviving Avengers to collect the Soul Stone. Black Widow's actions in Avengers: Endgame brought the Avengers one step closer to saving the universe, which has left behind a monumental legacy in the MCU.
Yelena's grief over losing her sister was demonstrated brilliantly during Hawkeye on Disney+, but this needs to be handled just as carefully when bringing Red Guardian and Taskmaster back into the MCU. Red Guardian had been Romanoff's father-figure, and was incredibly close to the Avenger, and Black Widow saw Romanoff free Taskmaster from her father's mind control. Romanoff's powerful death in Avengers: Endgame shouldn't be brushed aside with relentless jokes or a light-hearted tone, but should be upheld with the weight it deserves. After all, she sacrificed herself to save the entire universe, so this needs to be reflected in the Thunderbolts' team dynamic.
Thunderbolts Might Be A Spiritual Black Widow Sequel
In a recent post on Instagram, Marvel Studios' Director of Visual Development, connection between Black Widow and Thunderbolts, hinting that the latter is a backdoor sequel. With some of Black Widow's crew returning for Thunderbolts, and several of the main cast being taken directly from Black Widow, it seems as though these comments do have some gravitas. While Thunderbolts might not be a direct sequel to Black Widow, or else it would have been marketed as such, the events of Black Widow and Avengers: Endgame will certainly have an impact on many of Thunderbolts' characters.
Source: Andy Park
