Marvel Studios executive Andy Park revealed that an upcoming MCU film will act as a sequel to 2021's Black Widow.
A sequel to the Black Widow-centric solo movie starring Scarlett Johansson was unfortunately absent from the MCU slates for Phases 5 or 6. But the topic has been receiving some attention recently due to the publication of The Art of Black Widow book.
With Natasha Romanoff having been one of the few seemingly permanent deaths in Avengers: Endgame, a sequel to the 2021 film seemed like a fairly tricky possibility, as it would need to either be another prequel story or not star Johansson's character.
Now, fans of Black Widow have gotten some exciting information about the future of their favorite spy characters.
Will We Get a Black Widow 2?
In an Instagram post promoting the new Art of Black Widow book, Marvel Studios Director of Visual Development Andy Park revealed that Black Widow would be receiving a sequel-of-sorts with 2024's Thunderbolts film.
In the post's caption, Park says "it's like it's a Black Widow sequel & these movies are connected or something!" He then teased that it's "gonna get interesting:"
"Here’s the back cover portion for the wraparound cover I got to illustrate for THE ART OF BLACK WIDOW! Get your copy today! Taskmaster, the Red Guardian, Yelena AND Valentina Allegra de Fontaine will be returning in the upcoming THUNDERBOLTS film. It’s like it’s a Black Widow sequel & these these movies are connected or something! ;) It’s gonna get interesting"
Fans already knew that the characters Park mentioned (Taskmaster, Red Guardian, Yelena Belova, and Valentina Allegra de Fontaine) would be appearing in the 2024 movie.
However, the implied Black Widow focus is new information revealed by Park, as before this post, it was entirely unknown which characters and plots would be favored over others in Thunderbolts.
What Will the Plot of Thunderbolts Be?
While no actual plot information was revealed by Andy Park, the fact that the two movies will be "connected," with the film as a whole serving as a "Black Widow sequel," is notable.
Perhaps this means that the four Black Widow characters confirmed to be in Thunderbolts will be the main focus of the 2024 movie. After appearing in Hawkeye and bonding with the newest holder of the Hawkeye name, Kate Bishop, Yelena seems to be gearing up to take on the Black Widow mantle. Maybe fans can look forward to seeing that in Thunderbolts.
Further, Taskmaster's story in Black Widow was criticized by many as being too generic, not comic-accurate, and unremarkable. Maybe this means fans can expect a better narrative given to the already-confirmed Thunderbolts member.
Essentially, fans of Black Widow now have even more reason to be excited about the 2024 Thunderbolts movie.
Black Widow is currently streaming on Disney+, and Thunderbolts will release in theaters on July 26, 2024.
Gillian Blum has been a writer at The Direct since 2022, reporting primarily from New York City. Though she covers news from across the entertainment industry, Gillian has a particular focus on Marvel and DC, including comics, movies, and television shows. She also commonly reports on Percy Jackson, Invincible, and other similar franchises.
