When Avengers: Endgame made its debut in April 2019, Marvel Cinematic Universe fans were shocked when Natasha Romanoff (Scarlett Johansson) — aka Black Widow — did not receive a funeral after her death. The character sacrificed herself to save the world from Thanos. Then when Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) — aka Iron Man — exchanged his life, the box office hit gave him a proper sendoff. But recently, Black Widow director Cate Shortland revealed why Johansson didn’t want Nat to have a funeral in Endgame. And no, it isn’t because the character is still alive.
What happened to Black Widow in ‘Avengers: Endgame’?
In Avengers: Endgame, Black Widow died on Vormir to acquire the Soul Stone. As fans learned in Avengers: Infinity War, anyone who wanted to take the Soul Stone would need to make a sacrifice — a soul for a soul. So Nat fell to her death. This allowed her best friend, Clint Barton (Jeremy Renner) — aka Hawkeye — to live and collect the stone to defeat Thanos.
Following the Avengers: Endgame release, fans didn’t understand why Nat wasn’t given the same treatment as Tony after both characters sacrificed themselves. Then during ComicBook.com’s #QuarantineWatchParty in April 2020, screenwriters Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely confirmed they considered putting Black Widow’s funeral in the film. But they didn’t want to take away from what was happening on-screen.
“We tried a few things,” McFeely wrote on Twitter. “We could never land on one that felt good enough (and that didn’t take you out of the moment in front of you).”
Meanwhile, Avengers: Endgame co-director Joe Russo hinted the upcoming Black Widow film will serve as the character’s final goodbye.
“People have asked why Natasha didn’t get the same amount of screen time post-death as Tony did,” Russo said in the Endgame DVD commentary. “Well, Tony does not have another movie, Tony is done. Natasha has another film. Marvel Universe obviously does not have to move forward linearly anymore. But that character still has more screen time coming.”
‘Black Widow’ director Cate Shortland says Scarlett Johansson didn’t think Natasha Romanoff needed a funeral
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Now, it’s been over a year since Avengers: Endgame premiered, and fans are patiently waiting for Black Widow to be released. The Marvel Cinematic Universe film was set to debut earlier this year. However, the first Phase Four movie has been postponed due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. Even so, Shortland opened up about Nat’s journey moving forward.
In an interview with Empire…
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