New photos from the production of The Avengers 4 confirm the return of Scarlett Johansson's Natasha Romanoff/Black Widow. The film, which is now officially in production, will serve as the second half of the culmination of the Marvel Cinematic Universe to date, following its first three "phases". While filming on 2018's Avengers: Infinity War only finished this past month, work has already begun on filming and completing the still-untitled fourth Avengers film. As such, numerous Marvel actors have already gone back to Atlanta to begin work on the production, or are prepping to return sometime within the next few weeks.

Johansson's role in The Avengers 4 has been a hot topic of discussion over the past few weeks amongst fans, following reports that Black Widow and the Yakuza will share a scene together at some point in the film, during its highly-discussed sequence set in Tokyo, Japan. As a result of just how little is actually known about The Avengers 4 as of right now too, it's a story point that fans have grabbed onto as a possible indication of where the film could be taking its characters, following the events of Infinity War.

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Now, set photos courtesy of E! Online have formally revealed that Johansson is on The Avengers 4 Japan set. While she's not in her Black Widow costume in the photos, it is worth noting that she has arrived just following the construction of an elaborate Japan set for the film. Other reports have claimed that Johansson's Black Widow and Jeremy Renner's Clint Barton/Hawkeye are together on the set, along with two of the film's villains.

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Hawkeye and Black Widow talking in Avengers

The possibility of the Yakuza being introduced in The Avengers 4 has been going on for several weeks now, following a casting call that asked for extras to play Japanese gangsters and cafe patrons during a Japan-set sequence in the Marvel film. There's been no official confirmation or set photos to prove the famous comic book gang's involvement in the film up until this point, but that's one of the most popular fan explanations for why Black Widow and some of her fellow Avengers could be heading to Japan in the film.

There's no telling as of right now, what the context of the Japan scenes are, or why Black Widow and Hawkeye are involved in them, especially since fans have quite a few more months to go until Avengers: Infinity War is released in theaters - where they will then be able to find out how exactly it sets up the events of The Avengers 4. However, Johansson and Renner's involvement in the film's Japan scenes certainly lend more credence to the previous rumors, and as the film heads further and further into principal photography, it could only be a matter of time now before the Yakuza's involvement is proven or disproven once and for all, with either more set photos and/or announcements by the film's creative team.

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Source: E! Online

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