While Marvel Studios approaches the theatrical outing of “The Fantastic Four: First Steps”, which will serve as a kickoff of the MCU phase (thus closing the book on the five lamentable phase of the franchise), the fans cannot help but focus on the laser on “Avengers: Doomsday” next year. It is not that the first official appearance of the quartet in the MCU seems disastrous; It’s just that Marvel, stimulating the failures of the franchise of “The Marvels” and “Captain America: Brave New World”, overvalued their summer slate 2025 last March with a bizarre blow involving a ridiculous number of chairs.

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It is not the Marvel studios of the 2010s, where almost every film was a potential event of a billion dollars. The cinema which is still struggling to recover from the COVVI-19 judgment and the Union strikes (absolutely necessary), the studios must go beyond to convince buyers of potential tickets that their last theatrical offer is worthy of a trip outside the house. We have seen signs of encouragement of Success at the box office of “sinners” And “A Minecraft Movie”, and it is possible that “Thunderbolts *” by Marvel is a blockbuster with long legs (with its A-Cinemascore). But even if “Thunderbolts *” and “The Fantastic Four: First Steps” deliver, it is unlikely that it will deny $ 1 billion. Yes, “Deadpool & Wolverine” crossed the threshold of 10 digits, but it was a hereditary windfall of 20th Century Fox.

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The future of the MCU could well depend on “Avengers: Doomsday” do “Avengers: endgame” $ ​​2 billion at the world box office. This means that it is a bridge event film on the hands. If you were in a Marvel movie and you still have a pulse, you should be on appeal. But there was A handful of names missing in a visible manner of the day of the chairs. Scarlett Johansson was one of the actors notably absent from this role call. Natasha Romanoff / Black Widow really, really died in the Marvel cinematic universe?

Marvel Studios has always been revealed on the story and the actors reveal, but the race by Scarlett Johansson as a Black Widow felt to die when The actor continued Disney for breach of contract in 2021. There was a regulation (for an undisclosed amount), and the two parties quickly specified that everything was resolved amicably, but it is pr. It could easily have been the big kiss.

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Beyond this speculation, there is the rather salient fact that Romanoff is dead Death without object in “Avengers: Endgame”. Obviously, nobody is never really dead in the comics, but the films are different in that a) there is no monthly request to be satisfied, which means b) The issues are much, much higher. We are only going to get so much from these films. If death is fungible, the consequences are anything.

We will not know with certainty if Black Widow is as dead as Julius César until the credits roll on “Avengers: Secret World”, but we can Check the scriptwriter “Thunderbolts *” Drew Pearson, who was requested by the Hollywood Reporter If he thinks Johansson could return to MCU Fold. According to the longtime internal marvel scribe:

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“I will preface by saying that I have no idea, but I don’t think so. I have the impression that its end [‘Avengers: Endgame’] And then his epilogue with [‘Black Widow’] were so beautiful. So I would be surprised, but I don’t know anything about this. I have very little knowledge of what is happening with “doomsday” at the moment.

Pearson may not work on “Avengers: Doomsday”, but he knows how MCU sausage is made. So if he thinks that Black Widow is over … Well, that doesn’t mean anything. It’s the Marvel team. He could certainly play ball, which is cool because I don’t want to be spoiled on what could be one of the most unexpected calls for franchise.