Black Widow director, Cate Shortland, explains why a rumored cameo from a major MCU hero didn't show up in the new movie, despite earlier reports. Marvel Phase 4's theatrical run officially began with the film's release, which hit theaters on July 9 after over a year of delays due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Black Widow takes place between the events of Captain America: Civil War and Avengers: Infinity War and sees Scarlett Johansson returning as the titular character.

The last time fans saw Natasha Romanoff was after her dramatic death on the planet Vormir in Avengers: Endgame. Since Black Widow acts as a prequel story for the character, its place in the MCU timeline was one of the film's biggest mysteries. Rachel Weisz and David Harbour star as Natasha's "parents," AKA, undercover Russian agents Melina Vostokoff and Alexei Shostakov tasked with stealing S.H.I.E.L.D intel. After posing as a normal family in Ohio for many years, Natasha and her "sister," Yelena Belova (Florence Pugh), are sent to the notorious Red Room to train as Black Widows under the villainous Dreykov (Ray Winstone). While Black Widow acts as a solo film, after the film was announced in 2019, fans were left wondering if they would see a potential return of fan-favorite MCU heroes in an attempt to fill any plot holes left by the previous Avengers movies.

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In a report from GamesRadar+, Shortland explained that she and Marvel Studios President, Kevin Feige, decided against adding a cameo from other MCU heroes in order to fully focus on the Black Widow plot. Her statement follows multiple rumors that Iron Man/Tony Stark would make an appearance in the film, which stemmed from reports published back in 2019. Shortland said:

"Initially, there was discussions about everything, about all of the different characters. What we decided was, and I think Kevin was really great, he said, 'She doesn't need the boys.' We didn't want it to feel like she needs the support. We want her to stand alone. And she does."

Natasha and Yelena standing amongst the ruins in Black Widow

When it comes to the MCU, audiences have come to expect some key things from upcoming releases: Marvel's signature humor, memorable character interactions, epic action sequences, and of course, cameos. Whether it was Stan Lee or some other MCU hero, these cameos have become a fan-favorite part of the Marvel movie equation. But when asked if he had a cameo in the upcoming Black Widow film back in 2020, Robert Downey Jr. made it clear that Iron man would be a no-show. Speculation regarding a Tony Stark cameo stemmed from fans hoping to see additional footage from Captain America: Civil War, which would, theoretically, make sense with Black Widow's place on the MCU timeline.

Choosing to focus on the story of Natasha Romanoff, her adoptive family, and the destruction of Dreykov's Black Widow operation, as opposed to some star-studded cameos, has clearly proven to be a good move by Marvel. Black Widow earned over $80 million at the domestic box office during its debut and racked up over $60 million globally through Disney+ Premier Access streams. Seeing Iron Man up on the big screen again would have been fun for audiences, but it also would have taken away from his emotional death in Avengers: Endgame. With the debut of Black Widow, Phase 4 is off to an exciting start, and as proven by its post-credit scene, has endless potential to go to exciting corners of the MCU.

More: Black Widow's Hawkeye & Yelena Belova's Future Set Up

Source: GamesRadar+

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