Ever since Scarlett Johansson breathed life into Marvel’s character, Black Widow, fans have eagerly anticipated a stand-alone movie. Even though this new film will likely not follow the order of Marvel movies linearly, new reports reveal that this production has inched one step closer to the big screen. Now that the crew has brought on writer Ned Benson, fans eagerly await what he has in store for the script.
Ned Benson is a screenwriter, director, and producer, best known for his recent work on “The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby.” He joined the cast after previous writer, Jac Schaeffer, had written the script’s previous edition.
Reports note that fans have wanted a Black Widow stand alone film since her first appearance in “Iron Man 2” in 2010. Since then, Black Widow has appeared in a number of Marvel movies, including “Captain America,” “Captain America: The Winter Soldier,” “Iron Man 3,” “The Avengers,” “Avengers: Age of Ultron,” and “Avengers: Infinity War.”
The order of Marvel movies has never quite lined up in a coherent way, causing much frustration among fans. As universes are established and new characters are introduced, however, it isn’t surprising that filmmakers and screenwriters have taken liberties with the timeline. Even though the Black Widow movie has been in the works for years, it was only after her position as a fan favorite that producers saw this as a viable option.
And they certainly don’t want to mess this up. Marvel Studios reportedly interviewed more than 70 potential directors for the movie before choosing Australian filmmaker Cate Shortland.
The release date has been repeatedly pushed back in an effort to get it just right. Luckily, fans won’t be kept waiting for too long. Some sources claim that we might see a Black Widow movie as early as 2020. Other Marvel movies are being released to placate us in the meantime.
With “Captain Marvel” set to be released in only a few short weeks, fans are excited to witness a new superhero with links to the current generation of stars on the silver screen. The movie is set for release on March 8 but, true to Marvel’s incongruence, the story takes us back to 1995.
Countless Americans will revel in the glory that is “Avengers: Endgame” a month later on April 26. Many posit that Thanos’ destruction will be reversed with help from the Time Stone, but sources anticipate that the reign of a few key players in the Marvel Universe may come to an end. Could Black Widow be one of them? Will her story take place after ‘Endgame’ or will it be an origin story? Writers and producers have been tight-lipped on the subject.
So, as fans try to navigate the order of Marvel’s movies, there are a few different ways to discern this timeline — not including alternate universes, of course. Here is The Credits’ basic timeline that highlights the most recent Marvel films (with a few additions) and where they take their linear canon place, regardless of recent release date:
● 1945: “Captain America: The First Avenger” (2011)
● 1995: “Captain Marvel” (2019)
● 2010: “Iron Man” (2008)
● 2011: “Iron Man 2” (2010), “The Incredible Hulk” (2008), “Thor” (2011)
● 2012: “The Avengers” (2012), “Iron Man 3” (2013)
● 2013: “Thor: The Dark World” (2013)
● 2014: “Captain America: The Winter Soldier” (2014), “Guardians of the Galaxy” (2014), “Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 2” (2017)
● 2015: “Avengers: Age of Ultron” (2015), “Ant Man” (2015)
● 2016: “Captain America: Civil War” (2016), “Spider-Man: Homecoming” (2017), “Doctor Strange” (2016)
● 2017: “Black Panther” (2018), “Thor: Ragnarok” (2017), “Avengers: Infinity War” (2018)
Will Black Widow be added on to this list in the future? We’ll have to wait and see but, for now, we just want to know if our favorite superheroes will make it back from the wrath of Thanos. Now that he controls space and time, the timeline of the MCU could theoretically get even further convoluted in the process.
As we wait for a potential Black Widow movie next year, however, we’ll be able to pop plenty of popcorn watching “Captain Marvel,” “X-Men: Dark Phoenix,” “The Avengers: Endgame,” and “Spider-Man: Far From Home” in 2019.