Black Widow Movie Rumored To Feature Y2K Bug

The Black Widow movie may tackle the Y2K bug according to a new rumor. Scarlett Johansson's Russian spy-turned-S.H.I.E.L.D. agent Natasha Romanoff, aka Black Widow, is finally getting her long overdue solo film. Cate Shortland is set to direct with the script written by Jac Schaeffer. No official release date has been confirmed but many are convinced that the movie is slated to hit theaters in 2020, with production possibly beginning next May.

Not much is known regarding the film's narrative but Natasha playing a pivotal role in the famed franchise since her introduction in 2010's Iron Man 2 leaves no workable gap in the timeline that would accommodate a possible side story for her. Given that, Black Widow will be a prequel, more likely set before she was recruited by S.H.I.E.L.D. and during her days as a ruthless Russian spy. That means her confirmed film doesn't necessarily mean she will survive the upcoming events of Avengers 4.

A new rumor from MCU Cosmic claims that the Y2K bug will factor into the narrative of Black Widow. Sadly, no other detail with regard to how it'll fit in Natasha's standalone movie was provided, but based on the franchise's timeline, the former Russian spy may just be around 16 years old at that time the technological crisis threatened the world and may still be with the Red Room and not with S.H.I.E.L.D.

Also known as the Year 2000 problem, the Y2K bug was a worldwide computer bug that was expected to happen at the turn of the new millennium. The anticipated problem stemmed from digital databases and programs only using the last two digits of the calendar year, meaning that by the time 2000 rolled around, it will be indistinguishable from 1900. This would've resulted in countless types of errors such as display of incorrect dates and inaccurate records for those using automated programs. The worldwide crisis resulted in governments, companies, and organizations upgrading their computer systems in anticipation of the problem. Luckily, very few computer failures were officially reported.

The rumor noted that this plot point may not exactly be what the Black Widow narrative will revolve around, that makes sense considering she's too young when Y2K happened. Perhaps it's one of the historical happenings in her life that led her to where she is when the movie picks up, or maybe the threat is related to the mission she will have in the film. Regardless, tying the story to real-life events is a pretty great idea to ground the movie and differentiate it from more fictional installments in the franchise such as Doctor strange 2, Captain Marvel and The Eternals (which has just landed a director in Chloé Zhao) - all of which are tipped to significantly shape the MCU moving forward.

Seeing Natasha, who is one of the most grounded characters in the MCU, react to real-world events is a good way to provide her with a story arc that feels appropriately her own. While she's a killer assassin and an overall badass, it sometimes felt jarring to see her fight aliens alongside other Marvel heroes who have higher power set levels than she does as it inadvertently relegates her to a supporting role. But in Black Widow, she'll finally be the starring superhero.