After years of being made to play second-fiddle to the men, female comic book characters are finally starting to get their due. Supergirl and Jessica Jones have been huge hits with audiences on the small screen, and in coming years Wonder Woman, Captain Marvel and Gotham City Sirens are promising to blaze the trail for female superheros and villains on the big screen. And then there's Black Widow.

Despite her prominent role in three Avengers movies (including the upcoming Avengers: Infinity War) plus both Captain America: The Winter Soldier and Captain America: Civil War, Black Widow still has not starred in her own film. Many fans would love for Scarlett Johansson's Black Widow to take on an even more significant role in the MCU by getting her own movie, but despite talk of the possibility of a Black Widow standalone, thus far there has been no meaningful movement on that front.

Is there any hope for a Black Widow standalone film in the near future? MTV News correspondent Josh Horowitz caught up with Scarlett Johansson on the Academy Awards red carpet and queried her about the status of a possible movie. Johansson had no new information to provide, but did say she may offer an update after completing work on Avengers: Infinity War:

"I'm still trying to wrap my head around Infinity War which is like...the production is an infinity. And then I'll let you know afterward."

Scarlett Johansson as Black Widow

Johansson has indicated in the past that a Black Widow movie is possible, but said timing has been a big issue. For a Black Widow movie to happen, not only will Johansson have to find some room in her schedule, but Marvel will have to open up a slot in its own very strict timeframe. Rumors persist that Joss Whedon might be interested in tackling the job of directing this hypothetical Black Widow movie.

Female comic book characters are clearly becoming more important, and that fact alone might be enough to spur Marvel toward accelerating its plans for a Black Widow movie. With both Wonder Woman and Gotham City Sirens coming out, DC has a chance to get ahead of the game when it comes to big screen female comic book characters. Captain Marvel is a step in the right direction for Marvel, but it would help if they could find a second female character to push. Black Widow is the obvious candidate to be that second character.

As of right now, it doesn't sound like there's huge momentum for a Black Widow standalone movie. But that could all change after these other female characters hit the big screen. We'll wait until after Avengers: Infinity War comes out to see if Johansson has any updates.

Next: Infographic Shows Marvel Superhero Costume Changes

Source: MTV News

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