Captain America is said to be involved with Black Widow, here’s what his role could be in the upcoming Cate Shortland and Scarlet Johansson movie.
Chris Evans’ role in the MCU apparently ended in Avengers: Endgame, but there’s an interesting way Captain America could still play a part in Black Widow. A decade after the character’s debut in Jon Favreau Iron man 2, Scarlett Johansson’s long-awaited solo film as Natasha Romanoff is happening. Although it will take a little longer than initially expected due to the coronavirus pandemic, the character will finally be able to lead the solo adventure she deserves. Directed by Cate Shortland, the film will take place within two years between the events of Captain America: Civil War and Avengers: Infinity War – meaning, no matter what happened Avengers: Endgame, his fellow Avengers can still factor in the narrative, including Steve Rogers.
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Since their meeting in the early 2012s The Avengers, Natasha and Steve had developed a special bond different from their respective dynamics from the rest of the group. Black Widow was involved in Captain America’s last two solo films, and while she initially sided with Tony Stark / Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.) on the Sokovia chords, she eventually switched positions, changed sides and joined Team Cap. They also maintained their friendship in the five-year time gap following their loss to Thanos in Infinity war, further bonding them not only as fellow Avengers, but true friends.
With Nat providing backup to Steve in his last two solo adventures, it makes sense that the Super Soldier has somehow factored in Marvel’s upcoming standalone film. Here’s how Captain America can be involved in Black Widow.
Where Captain America during the events of Black Widow
Marvel Studios worked around Nat’s death in End of Game by defining Black Widow Between Civil war and Infinity war who was about two years old. At this point, Captain America and all the heroes associated with him who refused to sign the Sokovia Accord were scattered all over the place after the Super Soldier jailbroken the rest of his team at the end of the film. Clint Barton / Hawkeye and Scott Lang / Ant-Man have chosen to stay behind to enter into a house arrest agreement with the government to be with their respective families.
Meanwhile, Steve first dropped Bucky (Sebastian Stan) in Wakanda to continue his rehabilitation before going completely underground with Sam Wilson / Falcon and Wanda / Scarlet Witch. As revealed in the Infinity War Prelude # 1 comically, the Super Soldier kept himself busy for the two years leading up to Thanos (Josh Brolin) coming to Earth for the Infinity Stones by assuming his identity as a “nomad” in the comics and operating underground while the government continued to search for him and his allies.
Black Widow will join Captain America at the end (or after) of her movie
It should be noted, however, that while Nat ultimately sided with Steve for Captain America: Civil War, she did not immediately join him. By Infinity war, however, Black Widow was already with Falcon and Captain America as they became the MCU version of The Secret Avengers on the big screen without showing how and when they came together. This means that sometime after the 2016 film ended, Nat reached out to Steve to join them – something that Marvel Studios’ upcoming standalone film may shed light on.
When exactly Nat joins Steve and the rest of Team Cap is the question. As she always wore her natural red hair for Black Widow, it’s safe to say that Nat reunites with his fellow Avengers after the events of his movie. It’s unclear if she immediately contacts Captain America after taking charge of her personal mission. Maybe she’s spending more time with her Russian family for a bit of a breather, otherwise she could have been looking for them right away once she dealt with Taskmaster and the threat the villain posed.
How Captain America can appear in Black Widow
While the trailers for the Black Widow Selling the idea that he’ll be separate from the MCU’s larger lore, there’s a good chance there are references to the universe, not to mention his fellow heroes scattered throughout the film. The focus is on Alexei Shostakov of David Harbor, aka Red Guardian, Florence Pugh as Yelena Belova, Rachel Weisz as Melina Vostokoff being Natasha’s family before finding another since she became Avengers. Talking about Nat’s other most powerful heroes on Earth is inevitable to juxtapose his old and new families. That said, while Nat has a longer, more personal friendship with Hawkeye and an almost romance with Bruce Banner / Hulk, Captain America will be more closely tied to the film because of Alexei. In the comics, the Red Guardian is the Russian equivalent of the Star-Spangled Avenger. Marvel Studios’ take on the hero is inspired by this, with Harbor revealing that his Black Widow character “was the Captain America of his time for Russia.”
Aside from references to Captain America in Black Widow, the character could also be directly involved in the narrative if he reveals how Nat joins him in hiding. Seeing her make the call Captain America wishing to join them would be a nifty wat to connect the events of Captain America: Civil War and Infinity war via the upcoming standalone Marvel. Maybe the movie can even feature a little cameo from Steve, even if it’s just his voice as he and Nat hatch a plan to meet.
Why Captain America likely won’t appear in Black Widow
A full Captain America cameo is possible without creating a continuity issue in the franchise given where Black Widow fits into the timeline, and that would be a nice surprise for fans, especially those Evans and the franchise character miss. Recently, even Evans admitted that he was already missing out on playing Captain America.
That said, bring Steve back to the sequel Avengers: Endgame is not the best idea and Marvel Studios knows it. As exciting as it is to see Captain America again in the MCU through Black Widow, there is very little chance that he will make a physical appearance in the film. Marvel Studios is stepping away from the events of the Infinity Saga to move into Phase 4, and seeing someone embodying MCU’s first three phases would only hinder their efforts to move on to a new chapter in their storytelling. It would also reduce the price of Captain America’s otherwise formidable shipment. End of Game in exchange for a brief cameo that really doesn’t mean anything in the future other than being a gesture of fan service.
Key release dates
- Black Widow (2020)Release date: 06 November 2020
- Eternals (2021)Release date: Feb 12, 2021
- Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings (2021)Release Date: May 7, 2021
- Spider-Man: Homecoming 3 (2021)Release Date: Dec 17, 2021
- Thor: Love and Thunder (2022)Release date: Feb 11, 2022
- Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (2022)Published: March 25, 2022
- Black Panther 2 (2022)Release Date: May 6, 2022
- Captain Marvel 2 (2022)Release date: Jul 8, 2022