What If…? head writer A.C. Bradley discussed Black Widow’s future in the MCU after the animated show’s season finale.
Major spoilers ahead for What If…?
What If…? capped off its season finale earlier this week with the Guardians of the Multiverse taking down Ultron. At the forefront of the assault on the A.I was Black Widow, who was brought back or episodes 8 and 9 after her painful death in the third episode. In the finale, Black Widow fires an arrow armed with a virus that takes down Ultron. The Watcher then brings Natasha Romanoff, voiced by Lake Bell, into a universe where the Avengers’ Black Widow had passed.
In an interview with Variety, What If…? head writer A.C. Bradley discussed Black Widow’s future in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, teasing how Natasha Romanoff may return to the universe where she takes on Loki.
“Dystopian Natasha kicked some Loki butt and is back with her man Nick Fury to save the world, so order’s gonna be restored there.”
The What If…? scribe continued by discussing how it was important to transport Black Widow back to that universe instead of keeping her in the one where Ultron reigned.
“When it came to resolving Dystopian Natasha’s story, we realized that keeping her on that Ultron world was a fate worse than death. Everyone’s gone. And the Watcher, as he says to her, these stories have become everything to him. It didn’t come from a place of like, ‘Oh, what are we saying about Marvel and the MCU?’ It came from a place of, ‘What are we saying about the Watcher?’ He loves these characters. He loves these stories, these people, these heroes. He would never banish her back to a planet to basically starve to death by herself.
Bradley continued by discussing the importance of where Black Widow was placed, and briefly teased the MCU’s plans regarding the character, though there’s nothing definitive as of yet.
“We wanted to put her in a world where she could be the Natasha Romanoff that he has watched in different versions and loves. So that’s where the idea came from. Whether or not that’ll be reflected in the greater MCU? Who knows. They always have plans.”
It still remains to be seen just how impactful What If…? is on the larger MCU. It wouldn’t be surprising if some variations of the characters who popped up in the show could make their way into the likes of Spider-Man: No Way Home or Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness, especially with the multiverse already such a core component of the franchise.
Here is the synopsis for Marvel’s What if…?:
“Exploring pivotal moments from the Marvel Cinematic Universe and turning them on their head, leading the audience into uncharted territory.”
Marvel’s What If…? features the voices of Josh Brolin, Natalie Portman, Chris Hemsworth, Tom Hiddleston, Samuel L. Jackson, Jeremy Renner, Paul Rudd, Mark Ruffalo, Michael B Jordan, Chadwick Boseman, Jeffrey Wright, Hayley Atwell, and other major stars from the MCU.
The first seven episodes of What If…? are available to stream on Disney Plus. Stay tuned for all the latest news on the future of the series and be sure to subscribe to Heroic Hollywood’s YouTube channel for more original video content.
Source: Variety