Marvel Studios
There goes my theory about Black Widow dying in Avengers: Age of Ultron that I pulled out of my ass last year. The character was confirmed in a recent interview with directors Joe and Anthony Russo to be back for Captain America: Civil War, which begins filming soon. Technically Anthony just said they’ll be joined by actress Scarlett Johansson for the shoot, so maybe she’ll be playing the Avenger’s clone or twin or a new character for which she changes her look. He specifies that Chris Evans is returning as Captain America and that the Winter Soldier (Sebastian Stan, unnamed by Anthony) will be back and that Robert Downey Jr. is on board as Iron Man. He never specifically says Black Widow. Make of that what you will, theorizers.
I’m kidding, of course, about Johansson playing another character. Of course she’s playing Black Widow again, and of course she’s the logical other Avengers to return since she was the co-lead (sadly not titularly) in the last Captain America movie, which was also directed by the Russo brothers. With the confirmation, though, we’re now spoiled about her surviving the upcoming Avengers sequel and, more significantly, we’re seeing this next Captain America movie seeming more and more like a full-on Avengers installment. How many Avengers does it take to make it an Avengers movie, anyway? Black Panther (Chadwick Boseman) is supposed to be in Civil War, too, albeit not likely as a member of The Avengers even by the end.
And then there’s the theory that Ant-Man (Paul Rudd) could appear, filling in for the role Spider-Man plays in the “Civil War” comics. The movie is based on a storyline involving the revelation of secret identities through the government-mandated registration of superheroes. But there currently are no superheroes in the Marvel Cinematic Universe with hidden identities. There could be a change in what tears the Avengers apart and has Captain America and Iron Man battling over, but there could also be a substitute for Spidey, and many fans see Ant-Man being that substitute, as he seems to have a secret identity in his upcoming solo venture. But will that be one too many characters? Will we ever get to see a Captain America movie that’s really just primarily a Captain America movie again?
Here’s that interview with the Russo brothers (via Slashfilm):
