Once Avengers 4 brings the first three phases of the Marvel Cinematic Universe to a climax, it looks like one of the studio’s next moves will be to deliver the long-awaited Black Widow solo pic, starring Scarlet Johansson as the avenging super-spy. After years of nothing, things officially started moving on the project recently when screenwriter Jac Schaeffer was announced to be writing the script back in January.
On top of that, it’s now being reported that Black Widow will be with us in 2020. Insider Jeremy Conrad’s saying that his source has pointed to the movie filling one of three release dates from that year that Marvel Studios have already booked. To remind you, those three dates are as follows: May 1, July 21 and Nov 6.
Conrad goes onto theorize that Black Widow could take the July slot. This sounds likely to us, especially considering how a different report from a few months back also stated that the film would arrive in “summer 2020.” Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 is the only MCU movie currently officially scheduled for that year, with it being a sound bet that it’ll take the May release date, much like Vol. 2 did last year. What fills that November slot is a little hard to pin down at present, but it’s worth remembering that Doctor Strange 2 is also in the works.
Seeing as that’s two separate sources claiming that Black Widow is going to hit theaters in summer 2020, we’re inclined to believe this is currently the aim over at Marvel Studios. Scarlet Johansson is one of the most bankable actresses in the world and, despite hiccups like Ghost and the Shell, she’s mostly a reliable commodity to hang a big summer blockbuster on. Especially one starring an internationally known character who’s appeared in several of the biggest films ever.
Johansson has previously teased that she’d like to see a Black Widow solo film explore Natasha Romanoff’s past as a Russian agent and her training in the Red Room, as hinted in Avengers: Age of Ultron. It remains to be seen, though, what form Schaeffer’s script’s taking.
In the meantime, Agent Romanoff will return later this month in Avengers: Infinity War, arriving April 27th.