The Starforce is a supervillain team appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics . Its first appearance was in the comic Avengers #346 released in 1992, as part of the " Operation: Galactic Storm " storyline. The team are a Kree team of super-powered individuals brought together by the Supreme Intelligence .
214-759: Starforce appeared in the Marvel Cinematic Universe film Captain Marvel (2019). Starforce first appeared in Avengers #346 (April 1992), created by writer Bob Harras and artist Steve Epting . The team debuted during the storyline Operation Galactic Storm and played a major role in the Kree -based part of the story. Following the outcome of that story, now under the control of the Shi'ar , they confronted Quasar , Her and Makkari who had travelled to
428-543: A FedEx delivery man, referring to Lee's cameo in Captain America: Civil War . This acknowledged the fan theory that Lee may be portraying the same character in all his cameos, with writer and director James Gunn noting that commentators believed Lee was portraying the character Uatu the Watcher and "that all of these cameos are part of him being a Watcher . So, Stan Lee as a guy who is working for
642-638: A Quinjet to save the Avengers. She is wearing a vest given to her by Belova and has dyed her hair blonde, which matches the character's appearance in Infinity War . Pearson said there were discussions about ensuring the film was an appropriate farewell for Romanoff. He said they wanted it to feature "the greatest hits" of the character, including expanding on the backstory that was mentioned in The Avengers . In that film, Romanoff and Barton discuss
856-478: A Twitter E3 gaming sponsorship as well as announcements, posters, and collectibles for premium theater experiences such as IMAX . In September 2020, Barbie released two Black Widow dolls featuring Romanoff's black and white outfits from the film. Marvel released another trailer in April 2021, which Austen Goslin at Polygon described as a new "final" trailer for the film's new release date. He said it only had
1070-604: A crossover film; Arad, who resigned in 2006, doubted this strategy would work. He insisted that it was his reputation that helped secure the initial financing. In 2007, Feige was named studio chief. To preserve its artistic integrity, Marvel Studios formed a creative committee of six people familiar with its comic book lore: Feige, Marvel Studios co-president Louis D'Esposito , Marvel Comics' president of publishing Dan Buckley , Marvel Entertainment's chief creative officer Joe Quesada , comic book writer Brian Michael Bendis , and Marvel Entertainment president Alan Fine , who oversaw
1284-439: A "gendered character attack" and saying they "stand firmly against Disney's recent statement which attempts to characterize Johansson as insensitive or selfish for defending her contractual business rights". TheWrap reported that Johansson was shocked by the tone of Disney's response, while Disney chairman and former CEO Bob Iger was allegedly mortified. Feige was reported to be angered and embarrassed by Disney's handling of
1498-496: A "hands-on role" in each series' development. Feige said these series would "tell stories... that we wouldn't be able to tell in a theatrical experience—a longer-form narrative". He added that being asked by Disney to create these series "energized everyone creatively" within Marvel Studios, since they "could play in a new medium and throw the rules out the window in terms of structure and format". Television specials from
1712-464: A "pretty in depth" treatment by Nicole Perlman who co-wrote Marvel Studios' Guardians of the Galaxy (2014). The following April, Johansson expressed interest in starring in a Black Widow film and said it would be driven by demand from the audience. That July, Hayter expressed interest in reviving the project for Marvel, while director Neil Marshall said a month later that he "would love to do
1926-414: A 2018 agreement between Alonso and Disney to not work for a competing studio. The decision was made by a group that included Disney Entertainment co-chairman Alan Bergman and Disney's human resources and legal departments. Alonso reportedly did not seek permission to work on the film and was asked by Disney to stop working on it or promoting it. The situation was deemed serious enough that Disney requested
2140-417: A Black Widow film". Marshall said he was fascinated by a superhero with "extraordinary skills" rather than superpowers who is also an ex- KGB assassin. In April 2015, Johansson spoke more on the possibility of a solo Black Widow film, seeing the potential to explore the character's different layers as depicted in her previous appearances. However, she felt that the character was being "used well in this part of
2354-562: A Black Widow standalone film, but that Marvel's focus was on The Avengers (2012). Johansson reprised her role in that film, as well as in Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014), Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015), Captain America: Civil War (2016), Avengers: Infinity War (2018), and Avengers: Endgame (2019). After the release of Age of Ultron , Johansson revealed that
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#17327802891992568-504: A Marvel film if asked. When developing the crossover miniseries The Defenders , showrunner Marco Ramirez consulted with the creators of all the individual Marvel Netflix series, having them read each of the scripts for The Defenders and provide insight into individual characters' worlds. In December 2021, Feige confirmed that Cox would reprise the role of Daredevil in Marvel Studios MCU productions, with Cox first reprising
2782-603: A big idea they would like to explore or build to in a project, such as Hydra infiltrating S.H.I.E.L.D. in Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014), but they leave it up to the filmmakers to interpret and "improv a little bit" to get that point. After these ideas have been developed, the creative team then begins exploring ideas from other future projects to see how to make any larger universe connections. In August 2012, Marvel signed The Avengers and Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015) director Joss Whedon to an exclusive contract through June 2015 for film and television. With
2996-587: A big, giant visual-effects movie to do a big, giant visual-effects movie for us. You just have to have done something singularly sort of awesome." The studio ensures directors are open to the idea of the shared universe and are willing to include connective material, such as Kenneth Branagh and Joe Johnston needing to include scenes that set-up The Avengers (2012) in their respective Phase One films Thor and Captain America: The First Avenger (both 2011). Marvel Studios usually has
3210-555: A confidential arbitration", while calling the company's initial response to the case misogynistic. The suit was settled a month later under undisclosed terms, though Deadline Hollywood reported that Johansson would receive over $ 40 million from Disney. The settlement came after Disney chose to give theatrical-only releases to subsequent 2021 films following the box office success of Shang-Chi and Free Guy (2021), which both received exclusive theatrical windows when initially released. In November 2021, Johansson said in regards to
3424-481: A father and Avenger. Quantumania writer Jeff Loveness wrote the material from the memoir that was featured in the film. Various composers have created the film and television scores of the MCU films, television series, One-Shots, Special Presentations, and other related projects of the MCU, primarily released by Marvel Studios's record label Marvel Music . Original songs have also been created specifically for use in
3638-611: A few new scenes in it but provided the best look yet at the villain Taskmaster. Goslin highlighted the Russian-inspired version of The Avengers theme music used at the end of the trailer. Germain Lussier of io9 also highlighted the use of The Avengers theme, feeling that the music combined with footage from previous MCU films as well as flashback moments of Romanoff and her family made the trailer feel more epic than
3852-556: A gag reel, and behind-the-scenes featurettes were included. The film was made available to all Disney+ subscribers starting October 6. The IMAX Enhanced version of the film was made available on Disney+ on November 12. Black Widow grossed $ 183.7 million in the United States and Canada, and $ 196.1 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $ 379.8 million. The film's opening weekend earned $ 226.2 million globally, which included $ 80.4 million at
4066-776: A half-hour documentary special centered on Johansson's stunt double Heidi Moneymaker, premiered on ESPN+ as part of ESPN 's E60 series. The special was directed by Martin Khodabakhshian and narrated by Johansson. A subsequent, eight-minute version of the special aired on ESPN's Outside the Lines on July 10. An episode of the series Marvel Studios: Legends was released on July 7, exploring Black Widow using footage from her previous MCU appearances. Black Widow premiered on June 29, 2021, at various red carpet fan events in London, Los Angeles, Melbourne, and New York City. It
4280-540: A hydraulically actuated one. Second unit director Darrin Prescott explained that the crew would often "replace the engine or tear the entire body off the car and rebuild it from scratch". The sequence's plot and locations were adjusted to help Prescott create the "spontaneous" stunts that he wanted. Shooting took place in mid-July 2019 at Hankley Common in Surrey , England, under the working title Blue Bayou . The site
4494-581: A multi-million dollar compensation settlement in April. Disney CEO Bob Iger said in July 2023 that the company would be reducing the amount of Marvel content created moving forward, admitting that Marvel Studios' expansion into Disney+ series and more films had "diluted focus and attention" after several underachieving films at the box office. He clarified their plans in May 2024, saying Disney would now release two, or at most three, Marvel films and two Marvel series
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#17327802891994708-400: A new agreement be signed. The company consistently reminded her of this while she continued to promote the film following its September 2022 premiere, ultimately leading to her firing. Alonso's lawyers refuted these claims, saying Disney was aware of, and agreed to, Alonso's work on Argentina, 1985 and Alonso had been "silenced [and] was terminated when she refused to do something she believed
4922-675: A past mission in Budapest and there is also a mention of " Dreykov's daughter ". Black Widow expands on the Budapest hints by having Romanoff return to Budapest and revealing some of the details of that mission. Dreykov is revealed to be the head of the Red Room, who Romanoff believes to have been killed during the earlier Budapest mission. Johansson wanted the film to comment on the #MeToo movement which saw women supporting each other and "coming through these shared experiences of trauma on
5136-405: A plane while Belova takes out Dreykov's aircraft, killing him. In freefall, Romanoff gives Belova a parachute before battling Taskmaster. After landing, Romanoff uses one antidote vial on Taskmaster and gives the other to Belova along with the locations of the other mind-controlled Widows so she can find and free them. Belova, Vostokoff, and Shostakov say goodbye to Romanoff and leave with Antonia and
5350-514: A practical tank driven by Taskmaster that was created by Paul Corbould, the film's special effects supervisor. Digital cars were added to the scene to make it appear more dangerous and for better interaction with the tank. For the fight scene in Dreykov's office, ILM worked on the graphic displays in the background as well as the lighting that interacts with the Widows' bodies. In addition to creating
5564-525: A reality" during the filming of Infinity War . Following Romanoff's death in Endgame , Johansson felt there was "no pressing urgency" to make a Black Widow film and this would improve the project's quality. Feige met with Johansson to discuss the direction of a Black Widow film in October 2017. Marvel then began meeting with writers for the project, including Jac Schaeffer and Jessica Gao . Gao's pitch
5778-407: A result. Kareem Daniel , the chairman of Disney Media and Entertainment Distribution , said the simultaneous release gave fans options to see the film while serving the "evolving preferences of audiences". Chaim Gartenberg at The Verge opined that Disney had to move forward with a simultaneous release because they could not afford to delay Marvel's Phase Four television series, which were some of
5992-584: A safehouse in Norway supplied by Rick Mason . Meanwhile, Belova kills a rogue former Widow but comes in contact with a synthetic gas that neutralizes the Red Room's chemical mind-control agent. Belova sends antidote vials to Romanoff, hoping she and the Avengers can free the other Widows, and goes into hiding. When Romanoff is unknowingly driving with the vials in her car, Red Room agent Taskmaster attacks her. Romanoff escapes from Taskmaster and realizes that
6206-521: A scene from Civil War featuring Romanoff and Robert Downey Jr. 's Tony Stark / Iron Man , and Downey was reported to be appearing in the film. Fans also expected Jeremy Renner to reprise his MCU role as Clint Barton . Shortland and Feige ultimately decided against including other heroes so Romanoff could stand on her own, though Renner does have an uncredited voice-only cameo. Eric Pearson , who started his writing career in Marvel's screenwriting program and went on to work on several MCU projects,
6420-641: A series of direct-to-video short films that are included as special features in the MCU films' Blu-ray and digital distribution releases. The films included The Consultant (2011), A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to Thor's Hammer (2011), Item 47 (2012), Agent Carter (2013), and All Hail the King (2014). Following the One-Shots becoming available on Disney+ in January 2022, Marvel classified
6634-433: A series of photorealistic animated shorts starring Baby Groot for Disney+. In November 2016, Feige explained that the studio would often put together a "lookbook" of influences from the comics and art by Marvel's visual development department, to create a visual template for a project. These are put together at company retreats, which the studio holds approximately every 18 months to plan out future projects and develop
Starforce - Misplaced Pages Continue
6848-498: A series of direct-to-video short films called Marvel One-Shots from 2011 to 2014, and viral marketing campaigns for some films featuring the faux news programs WHIH Newsfront (2015–16) and The Daily Bugle (2019–2022). The franchise has been commercially successful, becoming one of the highest-grossing media franchises of all time, and it has received generally positive reviews from critics. The studio attributed several Multiverse Saga projects performing below expectations to
7062-423: A series of in-universe YouTube videos serving as the center of a viral marketing campaign to promote the films and universe. In December 2016, a six-part web series, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.: Slingshot , debuted on ABC.com . It follows Elena "Yo-Yo" Rodriguez on a secret mission, shortly before the start of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. 's fourth season , with Natalia Cordova-Buckley reprising her role from
7276-407: A short time before making it available on Disney+. Chapek soon stated that Disney was remaining flexible as they gauged consumer behavior, and they would make a final decision at the "last minute". In late March, Disney moved the film's release date to July 9, 2021, and announced that it would be released simultaneously in theaters and on Disney+ with Premier Access. Shang-Chi was delayed again as
7490-438: A stipulation in her contract that the film be released exclusively in theaters. The suit claimed that the simultaneous release exempted Disney from paying "very large box office bonuses" that Johansson would have been entitled to. According to The Wall Street Journal , Johansson had been concerned about the possibility of the film being released on Disney+ as early as prior to the release of Avengers: Endgame when Black Widow
7704-615: A theatrical release in China, a "de facto ban" that was not lifted until 2023. The film was originally scheduled for release on May 1, 2020. In early March 2020, after the COVID-19 pandemic had caused the closure of theaters in many countries , the release date for the film No Time to Die was shifted from April 2020 to November 2020. Commentators began speculating about the potential for other major films like Black Widow to be postponed as well. Deadline Hollywood reported on rumors in
7918-1038: A villain. Pearson moved towards the more subtle villain Dreykov who he felt fit better into the story and the timeline, but decided to reveal that Dreykov's daughter is alive and now a version of Taskmaster that he compared to a Terminator . He felt this was a way to still have some "Marvel fun" within the otherwise grounded story. Principal photography began on May 28, 2019, in Norway . Shortland took inspiration from such films as How to Train Your Dragon (2010), No Country for Old Men (2007), and Thelma & Louise (1991), as well as Captain America: The Winter Soldier . She looked at combat films and those with armies and militia, allowing her to imagine females in those roles to help translate that to Black Widow . Shortland also referenced fight scenes involving female characters in Alien (1979) and
8132-477: A year. This was a decrease from up to four films and around four series being released in some recent years. The company was reducing output and focusing on quality across all its divisions, but Iger felt the change was especially needed for Marvel. Feige and D'Esposito said 2023 had been a particularly difficult year and a "rough time" for the studio but they had learned their lesson on trying to make too much content at once. They added that no longer being "on top" of
8346-457: Is Antonia, who suffered damage in the Budapest bombing that was so severe Dreykov had to put technology in her head to save her. This turned Antonia into the perfect soldier, capable of mimicking the actions of anyone she sees. Romanoff is unable to attack Dreykov due to a pheromone lock installed in every Widow, but negates that by breaking her own nose and severing her olfactory nerve . Shostakov battles Taskmaster while Vostokoff takes out one of
8560-540: Is a 2021 American superhero film based on Marvel Comics featuring the character of the same name . Produced by Marvel Studios and distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures , it is the 24th film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). The film was directed by Cate Shortland from a screenplay by Eric Pearson and stars Scarlett Johansson as Natasha Romanoff / Black Widow alongside Florence Pugh , David Harbour , O-T Fagbenle , Olga Kurylenko , William Hurt , Ray Winstone , and Rachel Weisz . Set after
8774-656: Is also placed here in The Marvel Cinematic Universe: An Official Timeline . The Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A to Z , Vol. 5, published in 2008, originally designated the Marvel Cinematic Universe as Earth-199999 within the continuity of Marvel's comic multiverse , a collection of fictional alternate universes, although, this designation was rarely used officially outside of
Starforce - Misplaced Pages Continue
8988-422: Is not obtainable in a lawsuit". Eriq Gardner at The Hollywood Reporter believed Johansson's case was potentially weak since disputes of this kind usually take place in arbitration , and that she had been forced into presenting a claim of tortious interference rather than a standard contract breach due to a clause in her contract. Gardner added that Disney could defend not waiting for the market to recover from
9202-400: Is refining the chemical mind control process used on the Widows. Vostokoff alerts Dreykov and his agents arrive to take them, but Romanoff convinces Vostokoff to help them and the pair use face mask technology to switch places. At the Red Room, a secret aerial facility, Vostokoff frees Shostakov and Belova from their restraints. Dreykov sees through Romanoff's disguise. He reveals that Taskmaster
9416-408: Is responsible for at the beginning of the film. The sequence was designed by Perception , who worked with Shortland to film various vignettes on set that were made to look as if they were captured on 8 mm film, 90's digital video, and VHS . These were combined with old photographs and documents that Perception's team created and manipulated to tell the story. In mid-March 2020, Disney removed
9630-643: Is the first mutant (a term related to the X-Men) in the MCU. Namor is also revealed to be a mutant in the film Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (2022), as he is in the comics. Kelsey Grammer appears as Dr. Hank McCoy / Beast in The Marvels (2023), reprising the role from the X-Men films series, which also introduces the mutant Binary , an alternate version of Maria Rambeau , portrayed by Lashana Lynch . Feige called Deadpool & Wolverine (2024)
9844-667: The Team Thor mockumentary shorts as One-Shots. Team Thor is a series of direct-to-video mockumentary short films that were released from 2016 to 2018, consisting of Team Thor , Team Thor: Part 2 , and Team Darryl , all written and directed by Taika Waititi . I Am Groot is a series of photorealistic animated short films for Disney+ starring Baby Groot going on adventures with new and unusual characters. Vin Diesel reprises his role, with five shorts releasing on August 10, 2022. A second season with five additional shorts
10058-457: The Terminator franchise , and wanted the film's fights to resemble "real fights" rather than wrestling matches. She edited together fight scenes from different films into shorts that helped her explore the style of fighting that she wanted in the film. Shortland said this was the most violent film in the MCU and she wanted to approach that aspect with the same "truth" that she was approaching
10272-533: The Fantastic Four to Marvel Studios, although Feige explained that despite the acquisition finalizing in 2019, access and integration of these characters and concepts were unavailable "for a very long time" because of corporate acquisition laws. Some of the first elements to be integrated into the MCU following the acquisition were the organization S.W.O.R.D. in the Disney+ series WandaVision (2021) and
10486-470: The Iron Man films. Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.: Slingshot (2016) is one of several Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. web series created for ABC.com and produced by Marvel Television that is a supplement to Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. , with the main cast reprising their roles. The first two seasons of The Daily Bugle (2019–2022) are an in-universe current affairs show serving as a viral marketing campaign for
10700-652: The Red Room for training as Widows. In the following decades, Shostakov is imprisoned in Russia while Romanoff and Belova become successful, dangerous assassins. Romanoff eventually defects to S.H.I.E.L.D. after helping Clint Barton bomb Dreykov's Budapest office, which apparently kills Dreykov and his young daughter Antonia . In 2016, Romanoff is a fugitive for violating the Sokovia Accords . She escapes from U.S. Secretary of State Thaddeus Ross and flees to
10914-557: The Russo brothers and written by Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely . This was to ensure their storytelling aligned for the Infinity Saga's culmination. Marvel Studios began contracting their actors for multiple films, including signing actor Samuel L. Jackson to a then-unprecedented nine-film contract. Feige said the studio had all actors sign contracts for multiple films, with the normal number being for three or more while
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#173278028919911128-481: The Spider-Man films. Multiple limited series or one-shot comic books that tie into the MCU films and television series have been published by Marvel Comics. They are intended to tell additional stories about existing characters or to make connections between MCU projects, without necessarily expanding the universe or introducing new concepts or characters. The Wakanda Files: A Technological Exploration of
11342-598: The X-Men which were respectively licensed to Sony, New Line, and Fox, Marvel owned the rights to the Avengers team. Feige, a self-described "fanboy", envisioned combining these characters in a shared universe similar to the one created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby for Marvel Comics in the 1960s. "It's never been done before and that's kind of the spirit everybody's taking it in. The other filmmakers aren't used to getting actors from other movies that other filmmakers have cast, certain plot lines that are connected or certain locations that are connected, but I think... everyone
11556-402: The crossover film The Avengers (2012). Phase Two comprises Iron Man 3 (2013), Thor: The Dark World (2013), Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014), Guardians of the Galaxy (2014), Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015), and Ant-Man (2015). Captain America: Civil War (2016) is the first film of Phase Three , and is followed by Doctor Strange (2016), Guardians of
11770-586: The untitled fourth Spider-Man film (2026), and will conclude with Avengers: Secret Wars (2027). The planned film Blade is also intended to be part of the phase but does not have a release date. Marvel Television produced multiple television series set in the MCU across broadcast, streaming, and cable. Its ABC series included Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (2013–2020), Agent Carter (2015–2016), and Inhumans (2017); its Netflix series included Daredevil (2015–2018), Jessica Jones (2015–2019), Luke Cage (2016–2018), Iron Fist (2017–2018),
11984-475: The 2012 crossover film The Avengers . Phase Two began with Iron Man 3 (2013) and concluded with Ant-Man (2015), while Phase Three began with Captain America: Civil War (2016) and concluded with Spider-Man: Far From Home (2019). Black Widow (2021) is the first film in Phase Four , which concluded with Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (2022), while Phase Five began with Ant-Man and
12198-418: The 2019 live-action Marvel Cinematic Universe film Captain Marvel . Led by Yon-Rogg , this version of the team consists of Carol Danvers (then known as Vers), Korath , Minn-Erva , Att-Lass , and Bron-Char . While on a mission to the planet Torfa to rescue a Kree scout, they are ambushed by a group of Skrulls led by Talos , who capture Vers. She later escapes to Earth and contacts Yon-Rogg, who leads
12412-504: The Avengers and Beyond is "a collection of papers, articles, blueprints, and notes amassed throughout history by Wakanda's War Dogs" at the request of Shuri . It is organized by areas of study and covers the technological advancements throughout the MCU. The book, which exists within the universe, was written by Troy Benjamin and published by Epic Ink and Quarto Publishing Group. The Wakanda Files has content printed with UV ink that can be viewed with Kimoyo bead–shaped UV lights included with
12626-462: The Avengers from The Avengers in the score, but otherwise wanted to focus on creating a new identity for Romanoff. His discussions with Shortland led to him writing an original piece in the style of Russian folk music that he thought Romanoff and Belova may have grown up listening to. The rest of his score developed from that piece, and also took inspiration from Russian composers Sergei Prokofiev and Igor Stravinsky . Balfe completed recording for
12840-510: The Black Widow symbol and her traditional black costume. The marketing team differentiated the new campaign by instead featuring the character's new white costume from the film, and by focusing on her legacy as an Avenger. The campaign featured 30 brands, including co-branded opportunities with GEICO , Ziploc , BMW , and Synchrony Bank . Additional custom partnerships occurred with Fandango , YouTube , Roku , TikTok , and Amazon , with
13054-566: The COVID-19 pandemic". The company claimed that they had fully complied with Johansson's contract and that the Disney+ Premier Access release of the film had "significantly enhanced [Johansson's] ability to earn additional compensation" beyond the $ 20 million she had already received for the film. Bryan Lourd , Johansson's agent and co-chairman of Creative Artists Agency , condemned Disney's response as "shamelessly and falsely accus[ing] Ms. Johansson of being insensitive to
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#173278028919913268-671: The Galaxy Holiday Special (2022) are also included in the phase. Phase Five includes Secret Invasion (2023), the second season of Loki (2023), the second season of What If...? (2023), Echo (2024), Agatha All Along (2024), the third season of What If...? (2024), the first season of Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man (2025), the first season of Daredevil: Born Again (2025), and Ironheart (2025). Phase Six will include Eyes of Wakanda (2025), Marvel Zombies (2025), Wonder Man (2025), and Vision Quest (2026). Marvel One-Shots are
13482-575: The Galaxy Vol. 2 (2017), Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017), Thor: Ragnarok (2017), Black Panther (2018), Avengers: Infinity War (2018), Ant-Man and the Wasp (2018), Captain Marvel (2019), Avengers: Endgame (2019), and Spider-Man: Far From Home (2019). The second three phases are collectively known as "The Multiverse Saga", and include television series on Disney+ . Phase Four includes Black Widow (2021), Shang-Chi and
13696-549: The Kree homeworld to see if they can help survivors. The team reappeared in other Marvel space stories, including Silver Surfer: Breakout , Blackwulf and during Annihilation they are exiled as traitors. The initial team was: After her capture, the Shi'ar noblewoman Deathbird joined them and then led the team following the destruction of the Kree when she was placed in charge of the former Kree empire. The Starforce appears in
13910-623: The Last Dragon (2021)—if the effects of the pandemic did not improve leading up to May 2021. Variety felt it would be "insurmountably more challenging" for Black Widow to become profitable if it did not have a traditional theatrical release. In early February, Disney CEO Bob Chapek reaffirmed that Black Widow was intended to be solely released in theaters, but Disney was cognizant of theaters reopening, particularly in large cities such as New York and Los Angeles, as well as consumer desire to return to theaters. According to Variety , Feige
14124-518: The Legend of the Ten Rings (2021) as a result. In January 2021, Feige said he still expected Black Widow to debut in theaters, but Variety reported that Disney was considering releasing the film on its streaming service Disney+. There was also potential to delay the film's release again, or release it concurrently in theaters and on Disney+ with Premier Access—as was done with Disney's Raya and
14338-837: The Legend of the Ten Rings (2021), Eternals (2021), Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021), Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (2022), Thor: Love and Thunder (2022), and Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (2022). Phase Five begins with Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania (2023), followed by Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 (2023), The Marvels (2023), Deadpool & Wolverine (2024), and Captain America: Brave New World (2025), and will conclude with Thunderbolts* (2025). Phase Six begins with The Fantastic Four: First Steps (2025), followed by Avengers: Doomsday (2026) and
14552-410: The MCU films for the following 10 years. That July, Feige announced some of the films and series for Phase Five and Phase Six at San Diego Comic-Con, revealing that the second three Phases were collectively known as " The Multiverse Saga ". After the "creative experience" of ending Phase Three and "The Infinity Saga" with Avengers: Infinity War (2018) and Avengers: Endgame , and the expansion in
14766-534: The MCU timeline to be the most difficult to get right. This was because he wanted the audience to feel that the villain could succeed without breaking the timeline, which would be difficult considering audiences had already seen Civil War , Infinity War , and Endgame . He chose to focus on the Red Room—where the Black Widows are trained—and its leader, who "wields power from the shadows". Pearson thought that
14980-649: The MCU's primary reality as Earth-199999. 20th Century Fox 's X-Men film series is designated as Earth-10005 in Deadpool & Wolverine . That film features several actors reprising their roles from the X-Men film series along with characters from Fox's films Daredevil and its spin-off Elektra , Fantastic Four (2005) and its sequel Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer (2007), and New Line Cinema 's Blade film trilogy . Phases Four, Five, and Six comprise " The Multiverse Saga ". With
15194-472: The MCU, and was delayed three times from an original May 2020 release date due to the COVID-19 pandemic . Black Widow broke several pandemic box office records and grossed over $ 379 million worldwide. The film received positive reviews from critics, with particular praise for the action sequences and for the performances of Johansson and Pugh. In July 2021, Johansson filed a lawsuit against Disney over
15408-419: The MCU. Each short was designed to be a self-contained story that provided more backstory for characters or events introduced in the films. In March 2015, Marvel's Vice President of Animation Development and Production, Cort Lane , said animated tie-ins to the MCU were "in the works". That July, Marvel Studios partnered with Google to produce the faux news program WHIH Newsfront with Christine Everhart ,
15622-550: The Marvel Studios television series The Falcon and the Winter Soldier (2021), Joanna Robinson of Vanity Fair reported that Louis-Dreyfus had been expected to first appear in Black Widow before the delays pushed its release to after The Falcon and the Winter Soldier 's premiere on Disney+ . Feige later confirmed this, explaining that Black Widow 's post-credits scene was originally intended to be
15836-479: The Multiverse Saga after Thanos in the Infinity Saga, because Kang was a different villain in part because he has multiple variants from different timelines within the multiverse. The studio did not initially plan to build the next saga around Kang, and made that decision after seeing actor Jonathan Majors 's performance in the first season of the Disney+ series Loki (2021), as well as dailies from
16050-461: The Multiverse Saga's new antagonist Victor von Doom / Doctor Doom (after previously portraying the superhero Tony Stark / Iron Man in the MCU from 2008 to 2019) for both Doomsday and Secret Wars . In December 2017, Disney agreed to acquire assets from 21st Century Fox . The transaction officially closed on March 19, 2019. This saw the return of the film rights for Deadpool , the X-Men, and
16264-558: The Netflix series by Marvel Television. Loki and What If...? are excluded from the diagram because they occur outside of the main timeline. Werewolf by Night is also excluded given the special explicitly does not indicate where it takes place in the MCU. Disney+'s timeline order places the first seasons of Loki and What If...? between Avengers: Endgame and WandaVision , their second seasons after The Marvels , and Werewolf by Night after Thor: Love and Thunder ; Werewolf by Night
16478-526: The Phases in addition to their feature films. Each series is released on Disney+. Phase Four includes the series WandaVision (2021), The Falcon and the Winter Soldier (2021), the first season of Loki (2021), the first season of the animated series What If...? (2021), Hawkeye (2021), Moon Knight (2022), Ms. Marvel (2022), and She-Hulk: Attorney at Law (2022). The television specials Werewolf by Night (2022) and The Guardians of
16692-567: The Skrulls. Marvel Cinematic Universe The Marvel Cinematic Universe ( MCU ) is an American media franchise and shared universe centered on a series of superhero films produced by Marvel Studios . The films are based on characters that appear in American comic books published by Marvel Comics . The franchise also includes several television series , short films, digital series, and literature. The shared universe, much like
16906-535: The Starforce to the planet to rescue her. After discovering Skrull refugees, Starforce takes them as well as Nick Fury and Maria Rambeau prisoner and force Vers, who regained her memory and discovered the truth of her identity and the Kree's war with the Skrulls, into a transmission with the Supreme Intelligence . However, Danvers breaks free and annihilates Starforce while rescuing her friends and
17120-564: The Walt Disney Company purchased Marvel Entertainment for $ 4 billion. Disney said future Marvel Studios films would be distributed by its own studio once the prior deal with Paramount expired. The films of Phase Three were announced at a special press event in October 2014. By September 2015, Marvel Studios was integrated into Walt Disney Studios . Feige was reporting to Walt Disney Studios chairman Alan F. Horn instead of Marvel Entertainment CEO Isaac Perlmutter , and
17334-494: The Wasp: Quantumania (2023) and will conclude with Thunderbolts* (2025). Phase Six will begin with The Fantastic Four: First Steps (2025) and it will conclude with Avengers: Doomsday (2026) and Avengers: Secret Wars (2027). Marvel Television expanded the universe to network television with Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. on ABC in 2013 before further expanding to streaming television on Netflix and Hulu and to cable television on Freeform . They also produced
17548-740: The Watchers was something that I thought was fun for the MCU." Feige added that Lee "clearly exists, you know, above and apart from the reality of all the films. So the notion that he could be sitting there on a cosmic pit stop during the jump gate sequence in Guardians ...really says, so wait a minute, he's this same character who's popped up in all these films?" Following Lee's death, Marvel Studios chose not to create any new Lee cameos in future projects. NY1 news anchor Pat Kiernan has also appeared in multiple MCU films and television series as himself. Black Widow (2021 film) Black Widow
17762-475: The best version that movie could possibly be. Otherwise, I would never do it ... [it would] have to be its own standalone [film] and its own style and its own story." Due to the development work already done and the public support for the project, Marvel Studios decided to move forward with the film at the beginning of the MCU's Phase Four in 2020 following the conclusion of the Infinity Saga storyline in Endgame . Johansson said this decision had become "more of
17976-599: The book. It was released on October 20, 2020. Look Out for the Little Guy , the fictional memoir written by Scott Lang as seen in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania , was released by Hyperion Avenue on September 5, 2023. It was created alongside Marvel Studios and the Quantumania filmmakers, and was written by Rob Kutner , featuring "over 20 short pieces exploring different aspects of Scott's experiences" as
18190-594: The box office allowed them to be underdogs again, as they had been when starting work on Phase One, and they would be "coming back strong" with the hope of surprising audiences and exceeding expectations. Feige expected the studio to begin releasing two films and three series per year after 2025, when they were planning to release three films and six series that had been in development for a long time and were ready to be released. In 2024, Marvel Studios introduced their "Marvel Animation" and "Marvel Television" banners for their animated and live-action series, respectively. This
18404-576: The case would prompt other studios with streaming services to look at what contractual steps they would need to prevent further legal action like this. Variety reported in July 2021 that the case had prompted other Disney actors to consider similar litigations. In August 2021, Disney filed a motion to move the lawsuit to arbitration, citing that Black Widow had outgrossed other MCU films in its opening weekend with an "impressive pandemic-era showing". Johansson's attorney John Berlinski criticized this move as an attempt by Disney to "hide its misconduct in
18618-514: The cast as a spy, later revealed to be Yelena Belova . Marvel had been considering Pugh for the role since late 2018, but began looking at other actresses in early 2019, including Saoirse Ronan who passed on the role. The studio returned to Pugh after she received strong reviews for her performance in the film Fighting with My Family (2019). Devin Grayson and J. G. Jones , who co-created Belova, expected to receive $ 25,000 for her role in
18832-463: The character's introduction but instead became a reference to her appearance in the series. He said this was the only change to Marvel's Phase Four plans that was forced by the pandemic. The post-credits scene was added after Hawkeye (2021) showrunner Jonathan Igla expressed interest in having Yelena Belova appear in his series. Pearson was asked to write the scene, in which De Fontaine assigns Clint Barton as Belova's next target, without knowing who
19046-407: The committee. Feige initially referred to the shared narrative continuity of the films as the "Marvel Cinema Universe", but later used the term "Marvel Cinematic Universe". Since the franchise expanded to other media, some have used this phrase to only refer to the feature films. The MCU films are released in groups called "Phases", beginning with Phase One and Phase Two . In December 2009,
19260-551: The company who help to elevate each other's projects where possible. In November 2017, Feige said Avengers: Endgame (2019) would provide a definitive conclusion to the films thus far and begin a new period for the franchise. He later said Phase Three would conclude " The Infinity Saga ". Disney was reportedly developing a Marvel-based television series for their new streaming service Disney+ by November 2017. In July 2018, Feige said discussions had begun with Disney regarding any potential involvement Marvel Studios could have with
19474-488: The creative committee began having only "nominal" input on the films. They continued to consult on Marvel Television productions, which remained under Perlmutter's control. All key film decisions moving forward were to be made by Feige, D'Esposito, and executive vice president Victoria Alonso . The studio went on to establish the Marvel Studios Parliament , a "brain trust" of long-time executives at
19688-689: The creator or co-creator of many of the characters adapted in the MCU, made cameo appearances in all of the feature films and television series except Inhumans . In Iron Fist , it is revealed his on-set photograph cameo in the Marvel Netflix series is as NYPD Captain Irving Forbush . His cameo in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 sees Lee appearing as an informant to the Watchers , discussing previous adventures that include Lee's cameos in other MCU films; he specifically mentions his time as
19902-558: The crossover miniseries The Defenders (2017), and The Punisher (2017–2019); its young adult series included Runaways (2017–2019) streaming on Hulu and Cloak & Dagger (2018–2019) airing on Freeform ; and the Hulu series Helstrom (2020) was originally intended to be the start of a planned "Adventure into Fear" franchise, but was ultimately "not tied to the MCU", according to showrunner Paul Zbyszewski . Beginning with Phase Four, television series were included as part of
20116-772: The crossover miniseries The Defenders . In April 2016, Netflix ordered The Punisher , a spin-off of Daredevil . By February 2019, Netflix had canceled all of its Marvel series. In April 2016, the Disney-owned cable network Freeform announced Cloak & Dagger . In May 2017, Marvel announced that Runaways had received a series order from Hulu . In May 2019, Marvel announced that Helstrom had been greenlit for Hulu. In October 2019, further corporate restructuring saw Feige named Chief Creative Officer of Marvel Entertainment, with Marvel Television becoming part of Marvel Studios and executives of Marvel Television reporting to Feige. In December 2019, Marvel Television
20330-468: The deal, Whedon contributed creatively to all of the Phase Two films and also developed Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. , the first television series set in the MCU. In April 2017, Guardians of the Galaxy (2014) and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (2017) writer and director James Gunn revealed that he would be working with Marvel to help plan future stories for the Guardians of the Galaxy characters and
20544-445: The digital series Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.: Slingshot (2016). Marvel Studios began producing their own television series for streaming on Disney+ , starting with WandaVision in 2021 as the beginning of Phase Four. That phase also saw the studio expand to television specials, known as Marvel Studios Special Presentations , starting with Werewolf by Night (2022). The MCU includes various tie-in comics published by Marvel Comics,
20758-561: The domestic box office, $ 78.8 million at the international box office, and $ 67 million in Disney+ Premier Access global revenue. The opening weekend gross was within or had exceeded various pre-release projections. In June 2021, Fandango reported that the film had the most ticket presales in 2021, and surpassed other MCU films from previous years like Doctor Strange (2016) and Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017). Black Widow earned $ 39.5 million on its opening day, including $ 13.2 million from Thursday night previews, which
20972-402: The end of April 2018, the studio had met with over 65 directors for the project in an "extremely thorough" search, including Deniz Gamze Ergüven , Chloé Zhao —who went on to direct Marvel's Eternals (2021) — Amma Asante , and Lynn Shelton . Lucrecia Martel was also approached, but was discouraged when she was told that she would not have to "worry about the action scenes". She also felt
21186-400: The end of July 2021 for her work on the film, including her role as an executive producer. As Romanoff dies during the events of Endgame , the film is set earlier in the MCU timeline. It primarily takes place between the main plot of Civil War and that film's final scene, in which the Avengers escape from prison. Johansson and Feige felt this was "the best place to start" because it is
21400-404: The event a film had to debut on Disney+ instead of in theaters. TheWrap reported that the new contracts would likely only apply to films about to enter production. It was unclear if any adjustments would be made to contracts for films already completed but not yet released. For Marvel Television, Loeb said he and his executives were involved in all aspects of production: "whether it's being in
21614-410: The events of Captain America: Civil War (2016), the film sees Romanoff on the run and forced to confront her past as a Russian spy before she became an Avenger . Lionsgate Films began developing a Black Widow film in April 2004, with David Hayter attached to write and direct. The project did not move forward and the character's film rights had reverted to Marvel Studios by June 2006. Johansson
21828-401: The facility's engines, and they then lock Taskmaster in a cell. Dreykov escapes as other Widows attack Romanoff, but Belova exposes them to the antidote. Romanoff copies the locations of other Widows worldwide from Dreykov's computer as the facility begins to explode and fall. She retrieves two surviving antidote vials and frees Taskmaster from the locked cell. Vostokoff and Shostakov escape via
22042-485: The few "high-profile, must-watch shows" on Disney+ and once they began with WandaVision in January 2021 there was only so long that the films could be delayed before the interconnected nature of Marvel's storytelling began causing issues. For instance, the series Hawkeye was expected to be released later in 2021 and contain spoilers for Black Widow , so the film needed to be released before then. Gartenberg said Disney and Marvel were victims of their own success, but felt
22256-561: The fictional country Madripoor in the series The Falcon and the Winter Soldier (2021). Additionally, Patrick Stewart appeared as Professor Charles Xavier in the film Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (2022), portraying a different version of the character that he previously played in Fox's X-Men film series , while Kamala Khan was revealed to have a genetic mutation in Ms. Marvel , with star Iman Vellani confirming that she
22470-416: The fight sequences and said this was the most violent MCU film so far. Filming took place from May to October 2019 in Norway , England, Budapest , Morocco , and Macon, Georgia . Black Widow premiered at events around the world on June 29, 2021, and was released in the United States on July 9, simultaneously in theaters and through Disney+ with Premier Access . It is the first film in Phase Four of
22684-437: The film "long awaited" or "highly anticipated" by fans. Rachel Leishman of The Mary Sue said finally seeing a trailer for the film was "surprisingly emotional". She felt that setting it between Civil War and Infinity War would allow the character to grow into her more mature form from the latter film after earlier MCU films had depicted her in a supporting role to the male Avengers. Scott Mendelson of Forbes compared
22898-495: The film after production had already begun, opting to leave a television directing job and move to London so he could be the main cinematographer for an MCU film. Shortland preferred to avoid technical equipment where possible and prioritize natural lighting, which provided a challenge for Beristain in having to match the light of the location shoots to later additional photography filmed in Los Angeles. The naturalistic approach
23112-587: The film appeared in IMAX's expanded aspect ratio. Black Widow is the first film released in Phase Four of the MCU. Release dates for China, Taiwan, India, parts of Australia, and other Southeast Asia and Latin America markets were not set by the film's opening weekend, and by September the film was not expected to be released theatrically in China. Black Widow was the first of several MCU films to not receive
23326-416: The film based on a 2007 agreement with Marvel Comics, but ultimately received $ 5,000 due to a provision in the contract which allowed Marvel to reduce creators' payments; after Grayson went public with this, Marvel agreed to pay her the remaining amount. In April 2019, Pugh was confirmed to have been cast alongside David Harbour , Rachel Weisz , and O-T Fagbenle . An early version of the script included
23540-462: The film distribution industry suggesting that Black Widow would take the November release date of Marvel's Eternals , with the latter being delayed until 2021, but Disney said that it still intended to release Black Widow in May 2020. After a trailer was released for the film a week later, Scott Mendelson at Forbes said the trailer's existence and use of the May 2020 release date confirmed that
23754-522: The film from its May release date. Adam B. Vary and Matt Donnelly at Variety questioned whether the MCU could be impacted more by pandemic delays than other franchises due to its interconnected nature. A Marvel Studios source told them that changing the film's release date would not affect the MCU timeline, and the pair speculated that this was due to the film being a prequel. In April, Disney gave Eternals 's November 6, 2020, release date to Black Widow and shifted all other Phase Four films back in
23968-522: The film from its release schedule due to the COVID-19 pandemic . In early April, Disney announced that Black Widow would be released on November 6, 2020, and the rest of their Phase Four slate of films were shifted to accommodate this. In September 2020, Disney pushed the release back again to May 7, 2021, followed by a third shift in March 2021 to July 9, 2021. In April 2021, following Julia Louis-Dreyfus 's appearance as Valentina Allegra de Fontaine in
24182-474: The film had been completed a year prior and had not been altered, despite the release delays. Olga Kurylenko 's role as Antonia Dreykov / Taskmaster was revealed with the film's release. The film's visual effects vendors included Cinesite , Digital Domain , Industrial Light & Magic , Mammal Studios, SSVFX, Scanline VFX , Trixter , and Wētā FX . Digital Domain was responsible for the final battle sequence and completed around 320 visual effects shots for
24396-401: The film online. In its third weekend, the film earned a further $ 11.6 million and became the fastest film to reach $ 150 million in total domestic box office gross in the pandemic. Black Widow was the fourth-highest-grossing film of 2021 in the United States and Canada . Outside of North America, Black Widow earned $ 78.8 million in its opening weekend, from 46 markets. It
24610-458: The film was not being delayed. He said this was "the logical choice" because it was an ideal release date for the film and there was no evidence that the pandemic would affect its performance in the U.S. A week later, theaters across the U.S. were closed due to the pandemic and gatherings larger than 50 people were discouraged by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC); Disney removed
24824-436: The film's spy thriller tone helped alleviate his concerns about the villain. A scene at the end of the film in which Thaddeus Ross pursues Romanoff was deliberately left unresolved, as Shortland wanted to leave the audience "on a high" and questioning how Romanoff escapes rather than exhausted with another fight. This is then followed by a scene that connects this film to the end of Civil War by showing Romanoff leaving on
25038-543: The film's opening credits sequence, Perception designed the graphics for Dreykov's screens and other Red Room technology, researching Soviet Union technology for inspiration. Trixter created Taskmaster's mask and worked on several action sequences as well. Alexandre Desplat was revealed to be composing the music for the film in January 2020. Late in post-production, Lorne Balfe replaced Desplat as composer, which Desplat confirmed in May 2020. Balfe briefly references Alan Silvestri 's motif for Romanoff and main theme for
25252-499: The film's screenwriters sometimes as well. Marvel Comics worked with Brad Winderbaum , Jeremy Latcham , and Will Corona Pilgrim at Marvel Studios to decide which concepts would be carried over from the Marvel Comics Universe to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, what to show in the tie-in comics, and what to leave for the films. Marvel later clarified which of the tie-in comics are considered canonical MCU stories, with
25466-520: The film, the opening sequence—a prologue set in the 1990s with Romanoff and her "family" living undercover in the Midwestern United States —had already been written. The rest of the film focuses on this family coming back together in the "present day", with a pivotal scene later in the film where they are all reunited around a dining table. Of all the MCU projects that he had worked on, Pearson found Black Widow 's setting within
25680-404: The film. Pearson said the film's handling of Romanoff's Budapest backstory had been "85% cracked" prior to the start of filming, and the rest was determined during the editing process as well as additional photography . Winstone disliked returning for the additional photography, feeling his performance was being criticized by Marvel Studios executives. He wanted his role to be recast instead, but
25894-484: The film. They created the Red Room, an airborne fortress hidden in the clouds, which was inspired by the brutalist architecture of the Soviet Union . A combination of practical and visual effects were used to create the sequence where the Red Room is destroyed and falls from the sky: actors and stunt performers were filmed in a wind tunnel against bluescreens while being held with wires and mechanical arms, and
26108-566: The filming of Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania (2023). After Majors was found guilty of assault and harassment amidst legal issues in December 2023, he was fired by Disney and Marvel Studios. At that time, Marvel was internally referring to The Kang Dynasty as Avengers 5 . Alonso was fired from her role at Marvel Studios in March 2023 for serving as a producer on the Amazon Studios film Argentina, 1985 (2022), in breach of
26322-488: The films Spider-Man: Far From Home and Spider-Man: No Way Home , with the videos released on YouTube and TikTok . It is based on the fictional sensationalist news outlet of the same name that appears in the MCU—itself based on the fictional newspaper agency of the same name appearing in several Marvel Comics publications. J. K. Simmons and Angourie Rice reprise their roles as J. Jonah Jameson and Betty Brant from
26536-486: The films, however, it was noted all of these outside projects were part of the larger Marvel canon. In early 2024, Marvel Studios formally integrated Marvel Television's group of Netflix series into their Disney+ timeline. As of the Phase Five television series Secret Invasion and the film The Marvels , the "present day" in the MCU is 2026. The following covers and discusses MCU media released by Marvel Studios and
26750-412: The first animated series from Marvel Studios, and by July 2021 the studio was creating an "animation branch and mini studio", known as Marvel Studios Animation , to focus on more animated content beyond What If...? . Alonso said Marvel had around 31 projects in various stages of development by September 2021. In April 2022, Feige said he and Marvel Studios were on a creative retreat to plan and discuss
26964-403: The first time that Romanoff is on her own and not tied to a larger organization such as the Red Room , S.H.I.E.L.D. , or the Avengers. This setting means the film is not an origin story for Romanoff, which Feige wanted to avoid because he felt that was the expected direction for a prequel to go. He was influenced by the television series Better Call Saul (2015–2022), which is a prequel to
27178-424: The franchise, while Brian Tyler and Michael Giacchino have both scored fanfares for the Marvel Studios production logo . The fictional timeline of the MCU includes the feature films, television series, television specials, short films, and the I Am Groot shorts from Marvel Studios and Marvel Television's Netflix series. While the early films of Phase One and Phase Two of the franchise followed each other in
27392-518: The freed Widows. Two weeks later, Mason supplies Romanoff with a Quinjet to use in freeing the imprisoned Avengers. In a post-credits scene set after Romanoff's death, Valentina Allegra de Fontaine visits Belova at Romanoff's grave. De Fontaine blames Romanoff's death on Barton and assigns him as Belova's next target. Additionally, Liani Samuel, Michelle Lee , and Nanna Blondell appear as Red Room assassins Lerato, Oksana, and Ingrid, respectively, while Jade Xu portrays another Black Widow who
27606-493: The global COVID pandemic". He accused the company of "leaving artistic and financial partners" out of their streaming profits and denounced the disclosure of Johansson's $ 20 million earnings as "an attempt to weaponize her success as an artist and businesswoman, as if that were something she should be ashamed of". The advocacy organizations Women in Film , ReFrame , and Time's Up jointly denounced Disney's response, calling it
27820-471: The head writer for the Marvel Studios television series She-Hulk: Attorney at Law (2022). Schaeffer met with Feige in December, and was hired to write the screenplay by the end of 2017. Schaeffer and Johansson were set to discuss the direction of the film at the beginning of February 2018. Marvel began meeting with female directors to potentially take on the project, part of a priority push by major film studios to hire female directors for franchises. By
28034-403: The idea that Romanoff and Barton had used Dreykov's young daughter as bait to kill him and believed the girl had also died in the process. There were "heated conversation" with Marvel over how much of Romanoff's dark past to show in the film, and Pearson successfully argued for including this element. Earlier versions of the script had included the comic book character Tony Masters / Taskmaster as
28248-422: The increase in the amount of content being produced after the 2019 film Avengers: Endgame , and began decreasing its content output from 2024. The MCU has inspired other film and television studios to attempt similar shared universes and has also inspired several themed attractions, an art exhibit, television specials, literary material, multiple tie-in video games, and commercials. By 2005, Marvel Entertainment
28462-452: The lawsuit that she felt "very fortunate that nobody will have to go through what I went through" and thought the case had made "a positive impact in the industry and hopefully for artists and creatives' lives and livelihood[s]." Black Widow was released by Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment on digital download in the U.S. on August 10, 2021, and was released on Ultra HD Blu-ray , Blu-ray , and DVD on September 14. Deleted scenes,
28676-635: The main universe of the MCU as well. In Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness , the main universe of MCU events was designated as Earth-616 (a designation first referenced in Spider-Man: Far From Home ), sharing the name of the main Marvel Comics universe , while another universe was designated as Earth-838 . Sony's animated film Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse references the events of No Way Home , citing
28890-452: The music and visual effects of Marvel films were "horrible". In the following months, a shortlist of 49 directors was made before the top choices of Cate Shortland , Asante, and Maggie Betts met with Feige and Johansson in June. Mélanie Laurent and Kimberly Peirce were also in the "next-to-final mix". Johansson was a fan of Shortland's previous female-starring film Lore (2012), and
29104-560: The new cast members. In August, bodybuilder Olivier Richters revealed that he had been cast in the film, playing a character that was subsequently confirmed to be Ursa Major . That same month, crew undertook scanning and texture photography at the Well-Safe Guardian oil rig in the North Sea as a reference for visual effects. A wrap party was held at the end of September, before production moved to Macon, Georgia , for
29318-402: The nine or twelve film deals were rare. The actors' contracts also feature clauses that allow Marvel to use up to three minutes of an actor's performance from one film in another, which Marvel describes as "bridging material". By the start of Phase Four, Marvel Studios was no longer contracting actors for a large number of projects, with deal lengths varying for each actor and project. Feige said
29532-533: The number of films on her contract had been adjusted since she first signed to match the "demand of the character", as Marvel had not anticipated the audience's positive response to the character and Johansson's performance. After teasing Black Widow's past in Age of Ultron , Feige said in February 2014 that he would like to see it explored further in a solo film. Development work for this had already started, including
29746-480: The number of projects being produced by the studio in a short amount of time, Marvel Studios decided to move away from having an Avengers crossover film at the end of each Phase and instead decided to have a crossover culmination at the end of "The Multiverse Saga" with Avengers: The Kang Dynasty and Avengers: Secret Wars (2027). The studio was excited to explore Kang the Conqueror as an overarching villain of
29960-404: The original Marvel Universe in comic books, was established by crossing over common plot elements, settings, cast, and characters. Marvel Studios releases its films in groups called "Phases", with the first three phases collectively known as "The Infinity Saga" and the following three phases as "The Multiverse Saga". The first MCU film, Iron Man (2008), began Phase One which culminated in
30174-534: The other side", and this is seen in the way that Romanoff is forced, by the arrival of Belova, to confront Dreykov and her past trauma. Johansson was grateful to have the film to comment on these ideas. Pearson felt the truth behind "Dreykov's daughter" needed to be "something pretty bad. Natasha is ashamed of it. We've been doing allusions to her having a dark past [throughout the MCU]... It had to be something actively tough that she did that haunts her dreams." He settled on
30388-568: The pair felt their "real bonding" happened during Pugh's first two days of filming when they were working on an early fight scene between Romanoff and Belova. Pugh had some stunt experience from her work on Fighting with My Family , and Johansson gave her advice that she had received from Samuel L. Jackson while working on Iron Man 2 . Pearson was on set to hear a joke from Pugh about the "ridiculous" pose that Johansson often lands in while fighting as Romanoff throughout her MCU appearances, which led to him adding some jokes from Belova to Romanoff about
30602-669: The pandemic since they had already delayed the film's release by a year and needed Black Widow to be released so they could continue the MCU, considering the film introduces important new characters such as Yelena Belova who was expected to appear in future MCU projects. Screen Daily editor Matt Mueller told BBC News that he expected the case would be resolved between Disney and Johansson before reaching court, and expressed surprise that Disney had let it get to this stage, given Warner Bros. had made agreements with stars for simultaneous releases in theaters and on HBO Max for films like Space Jam: A New Legacy (2021). Mueller also believed
30816-505: The pandemic. The film passed $ 100 million at the domestic box office in six days, the fastest to do so in the pandemic. In its second weekend, the film grossed $ 25.8 million, finishing second behind Space Jam: A New Legacy . Its 67% drop marked the largest sophomore week decline for an MCU film, passing Ant-Man and the Wasp (62%). Box office analysts attributed Black Widow 's second-week decline to its Disney+ Premier Access release, as well as widely reported piracies of
31030-642: The pandemic. In South Korea, the film's opening day was the second-best of 2021, with $ 3.3 million, and Hong Kong had the best opening of the pandemic, with $ 3.2 million. The film had the largest opening day of the pandemic in Austria, the Czech Republic, Qatar, and Slovakia, while in Saudi Arabia, the film earned the highest opening day for a Disney release ever. It was the number one film on opening day in many other markets. As of October 2021,
31244-451: The phases of the MCU. However, these lookbooks are not always shown to directors, with Marvel sometimes preferring to let the director offer their own ideas first. When choosing a director for a project, Marvel Studios looks for filmmakers to hire who can guide a film. Some of their choices for directors have been considered "out-of-left-field based on those director's previous work. On this, Feige remarked that "you don't have to have directed
31458-445: The pigs on the farm of Weisz's Melina Vostokoff , Wētā filmed live Kunekune pigs as reference for the digital pigs in the final shots. Industrial Light & Magic completed approximately 800 VFX shots for the film, working on the opening airplane escape scene, the Budapest apartment fight and subsequent motorcycle and car chase, and the fight between Romanoff and a group of Black Widows in Dreykov's office. The opening airplane scene
31672-470: The poses in the script. Ray Winstone joined the film's cast later in June, when filming took place on location in Budapest. 13 BMW X3s were used to create a car chase involving Romanoff and Belova in Budapest, with the crew often switching off the electronic stability control and safety assistance functions to be able to do what the script asked for. They also swapped the X3's electronic parking brake for
31886-532: The potential revenue loss from the simultaneous release could lead to long-term positives such as fans who otherwise would not have watched Marvel's series potentially discovering them when signing up for Disney+ to watch Black Widow . In July 2021, Johansson filed a lawsuit in Los Angeles County Superior Court against The Walt Disney Company, alleging that the simultaneous release of Black Widow in theaters and on Disney+ breached
32100-408: The previous "final" trailer. Lussier said it was a trailer that "gets you excited for the return" of MCU films after the pandemic delays. Ethan Anderton of /Film said the free-falling fight with Taskmaster showcased in the trailer "looks like a sequence unlike any other" in the MCU. The trailer received over 70 million views in its first 24 hours. On July 5, Moneymaker: Behind the Black Widow ,
32314-517: The project and the rights reverted to Marvel Studios. Hayter and Marvel tried getting another financier to develop the project, but Hayter did not feel that they found another place "that was willing to take the movie, and the character, seriously". Hayter said this left him heartbroken, and he hoped the film would be made some day. Marvel Studios entered early talks with Emily Blunt to play Black Widow in Iron Man 2 (2010) in January 2009, but she
32528-557: The projects and distribution. Avi Arad , head of Marvel Entertainment's film division known as Marvel Films , was pleased with director Sam Raimi 's Spider-Man film trilogy (2002–2007) at Sony Pictures and Columbia but was less enthused with some of the other films. Arad decided to form Marvel Studios , Hollywood's first major independent film studio since DreamWorks Pictures was founded in 1994. Kevin Feige , Arad's second-in-command, realized that unlike Spider-Man , Blade , and
32742-547: The reason that all the filmmakers are on board is that their movies need to stand on their own. They need to have a fresh vision, a unique tone, and the fact that they can interconnect if you want to follow those breadcrumbs is a bonus." —Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige on constructing a shared film universe To raise capital, the studio secured funding from a seven-year, $ 525 million revolving credit facility with Merrill Lynch . Marvel planned to release individual films for their main characters and then merge them in
32956-576: The relationship between Romanoff and Belova. Josh Weiss of Syfy Wire enjoyed the trailer's quieter moments in addition to the expected action sequences. Mendelson found the trailer to be an improvement over the teaser, attributing this to its theme of "found families (the Avengers), forced families ([the Black Widows]) and actual family" portrayed by Pugh, Harbour, and Weisz. Disney's president of marketing Asad Ayaz said that after Black Widow
33170-533: The release of The Marvel Cinematic Universe: An Official Timeline in October 2023, Feige wrote in its foreword that Marvel Studios only considered, at that time, projects developed by them in their first four phases as part of their " Sacred Timeline ", but acknowledged the history of other Marvel films and television series that would exist in the larger multiverse and said they were "canonical to Marvel". In January 2024, Winderbaum acknowledged that Marvel Studios had previously been "a little bit cagey" about what
33384-568: The release schedule to accommodate this. Anthony D'Alessandro of Deadline Hollywood reported in September 2020 that Disney was considering rescheduling Black Widow again, with Variety also reporting this and attributing it to the low box office returns for Disney's Mulan in China and Warner Bros. ' Tenet in North America. Later that month, Disney pushed the release to May 7, 2021, rescheduling Eternals and Shang-Chi and
33598-429: The rest being merely inspired by the MCU "where we get to show off all the characters from the film in costume and in comic form". In August 2011, Marvel announced a series of direct-to-video short films called Marvel One-Shots . The name was derived from the label used by Marvel Comics for their one-shot comics . Winderbaum said the shorts were "a fun way to experiment with new characters and ideas" and to expand
33812-532: The rest of the film. Early reports suggested that Rob Hardy would be the film's cinematographer, but he left the production before filming began. Gabriel Beristain served as cinematographer instead, having previously done so for the Marvel One-Shot short films Item 47 (2012) and Agent Carter (2013), for the television series Agent Carter (2015–2016), and for additional photography on Iron Man (2008) and six other MCU films. Beristain
34026-526: The role in the film Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021). Additionally, Vincent D'Onofrio first reprised his role as Wilson Fisk / Kingpin from Daredevil in the Disney+ series Hawkeye (2021). Marvel Studios releases its films in groups called "Phases". The first three phases are collectively known as "The Infinity Saga". Phase One consists of Iron Man (2008), The Incredible Hulk (2008), Iron Man 2 (2010), Thor (2011), and Captain America: The First Avenger (2011), and concludes with
34240-414: The score at Abbey Road Studios as the COVID-19 pandemic began to impact studio recording sessions. The film's opening credits sequence features a cover of Nirvana 's " Smells Like Teen Spirit " by Think Up Anger, featuring Malia J, which was suggested by Perception. " American Pie " by Don McLean and " Cheap Thrills " by Sia are also featured in the film. A soundtrack album featuring Balfe's score
34454-557: The series Breaking Bad (2008–2013), calling it "a wonderful example of a prequel that almost completely stands on its own... because it informs you about so many things you didn't know about before". In February 2019, Ned Benson was hired to rewrite the script, and Feige confirmed that, despite rumors, the studio did not want the film to receive an R-rating from the Motion Picture Association . The following month, Florence Pugh entered negotiations to join
34668-543: The series. In September 2019, Sony created a real version of the fictional The Daily Bugle website as part of a viral marketing campaign to promote the home media release of Spider-Man: Far From Home (2019). Inspired by real-world "conspiracy-pushing" websites such as Alex Jones 's InfoWars , the website features J. K. Simmons reprising his role as J. Jonah Jameson in a video where he speaks out against Spider-Man before asking viewers to "like and subscribe". In December 2020, Marvel Studios announced I Am Groot ,
34882-522: The simultaneous release, which was settled two months later. In 1995, super soldier Alexei Shostakov and Black Widow assassin Melina Vostokoff work as Russian undercover agents, posing as a family in Ohio with Natasha Romanoff and Yelena Belova as their daughters. They steal S.H.I.E.L.D. intel and escape to Cuba where their boss, General Dreykov , has Romanoff and Belova taken to
35096-426: The situation, and wanted the company to make it right with Johansson. SAG-AFTRA president Gabrielle Carteris also condemned Disney's response, saying they "should be ashamed of themselves for resorting to tired tactics such as gender-shaming and bullying". In response to these criticisms, Disney attorney Daniel Petrocelli called the suit a "highly orchestrated [public relations] campaign to achieve an outcome that
35310-470: The source material. The television series Loki and What If...? were the first to explore the concept of the multiverse within the MCU, as well as the film Spider-Man: No Way Home , which connected the MCU to other Spider-Man film franchises by featuring characters from Sam Raimi 's Spider-Man trilogy , Marc Webb 's The Amazing Spider-Man films , and Sony's Spider-Man Universe (SSU). The SSU film Venom: Let There Be Carnage briefly featured
35524-418: The streaming service, which he felt was important for the wider company. In September 2018, Marvel Studios was reported to be developing several limited series centered on "second-tier" characters from the MCU films who had not and were unlikely to headline their own films. Each series was expected to be six to eight episodes and would be produced by Marvel Studios rather than Marvel Television, with Feige taking
35738-426: The studio are marketed as " Marvel Studios Special Presentations ". The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special (2022), a Special Presentation, was the first project Marvel Studios began planning for Disney+. In July 2019, Feige announced the Phase Four slate at San Diego Comic-Con , consisting of films and, for the first time, television event series on Disney+. The Phase Four slate includes What If...? ,
35952-469: The studio said, 'We don't think it's time to do this movie.'" —David Hayter on his version of the film and why it failed to move forward In February 2004, Lionsgate acquired the film rights for the Marvel Comics character Black Widow , and in April announced David Hayter as writer and director of the film, with Marvel Studios ' Avi Arad producing. By June 2006, Lionsgate had dropped
36166-501: The studio was looking for actors who were excited to join the franchise and appear in multiple projects without being locked into contractual obligations. He also noted that they were starting to include theme park attractions in actors' deals. By December 2020, because of the impact COVID-19 had on theaters and film studios shifting away from theatrical releases, Marvel Studios began exploring updated contracts for actors, writers, directors, and producers to receive adjusted compensation in
36380-550: The surrounding environment of sky and debris was created digitally. Cinesite primarily handled the Russian prison that Harbour's Alexei Shostakov / Red Guardian is found in. Wētā FX created the mountain range that surrounds the prison, based on photography from Svalbard, Norway , as well as an avalanche. Wētā also created the Mil Mi-8 helicopter that is seen in that sequence, while Cinesite created it for other sequences. For
36594-444: The target would be. Shortland considered the setting of the scene, at Romanoff's grave in a remote clearing, to be a response to fans who were upset that Romanoff did not receive a funeral in Endgame . Shortland said the character was private and would not have wanted a large funeral, so this scene allowed the character's ending "to be the grief the individuals felt, rather than a big public outpouring". Shortland said in May 2021 that
36808-436: The third films in their MCU franchises— Civil War and Thor: Ragnarok (2017), respectively—as well as for Infinity War and Endgame . Despite The Hollywood Reporter claiming that their report had been confirmed by "multiple knowledgeable sources", Marvel Studios disputed its accuracy and said they "never publicly disclose salaries or deal terms". The Walt Disney Company later said Johansson had earned $ 20 million by
37022-412: The timeline similar to their release order, Phase Three saw many of the films overlapping with each other in the timeline, while also introducing the first prequel property, Captain Marvel . The Phase Three film Avengers: Endgame featured characters traveling into the past and introduced a five-year time jump, with many subsequent releases in Phase Four and Phase Five set after Endgame ' s events in
37236-627: The timeline. The television series Loki and What If...? were the first properties to occur outside of the main timeline and explore alternative timelines and universes. There have been numerous attempts by Marvel Studios and others to codify the events of the MCU, which have been subject to perceived continuity errors , resulting in Marvel Studios releasing an official timeline book in 2023 for their first four phases that were designated as part of their " Sacred Timeline ". This book did not feature projects produced by other companies, such as Marvel Television's series which all had been loosely connected to
37450-406: The trailer compared to the styles of Jon Favreau , Joss Whedon, and the Russo brothers , all directors who helped define Black Widow in previous MCU films, indicating a move away from the MCU's "house style". What was intended to be the final trailer for the film debuted in March 2020. Nicole Carpenter of Polygon said it was the most in-depth look at the film yet with a more "intimate look" at
37664-570: The trailer's story and tone to the films Atomic Blonde (2017), Red Sparrow (2018), and Anna (2019), but felt Black Widow had a commercial advantage over those films since it stars a familiar character. Mendelson thought this familiarity could outweigh the teaser's focus on "family melodrama" over superheroics, which he compared to Marvel Studios' Thor (2011). The Hollywood Reporter ' s Richard Newby found noticeable differences in Shortland's shot composition and cinematography in
37878-408: The true start to Marvel Studios' exploration and use of the Fox characters, and said every project after it would be part of the MCU's "Mutant era". Some of the films between Deadpool & Wolverine and Secret Wars featured additional X-Men characters, with Feige saying the story of Secret Wars would lead into a "new age of mutants" and the X-Men being introduced to the MCU. Marvel Television
38092-444: The universe" at that time. While promoting Civil War the next April, Feige noted that due to Marvel's announced schedule of films for Phase Three of the MCU, any potential Black Widow film would be four or five years away. He added that Marvel was "creatively and emotionally" committed to making a Black Widow film eventually. Joss Whedon , the director of The Avengers and Avengers: Age of Ultron , said in July 2016 that he
38306-422: The vials came from Budapest. There she finds Belova, who reveals that Dreykov is alive and the Red Room is still active. Widows and Taskmaster attack them, but Romanoff and Belova evade them and meet with Mason, who supplies them with a helicopter. Romanoff and Belova break Shostakov out of prison to learn Dreykov's location, and he directs them to Vostokoff, who lives on a farm outside Saint Petersburg . There she
38520-823: The week of September 30. Filming locations in Macon, including Terminal Station , were dressed to portray Albany, New York . Set photos from the start of October revealed that William Hurt would appear in the film, reprising his MCU role as Thaddeus Ross. Additional filming in Georgia took place in Atlanta and Rome . Also in early October, filming took place in Tangier , Morocco , with local production services provided by Zak Productions. Principal photography lasted for 87 days and officially wrapped on October 6, 2019. Matthew Schmidt and Leigh Folsom Boyd served as editors on
38734-412: The wider "Marvel Cosmic Universe", although Gunn became the co-CEO of DC Studios in November 2022 and signed a four-year deal to work exclusively on DC Comics -based projects. For Phase Three, there was a large amount of collaboration between the filmmakers of the individual character films and the filmmakers of the crossover films Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame , which were directed by
38948-748: The writers' room, editing, on set, casting—every step of the production goes through the Marvel team to tell the best story that we can". He said the studio was able to work on so many series across different networks and platforms because all they needed was one person working on each series to help "guide the process". Actors appearing in Marvel Television series, such as Charlie Cox (who portrayed Matt Murdock / Daredevil in Daredevil ) and Adrianne Palicki ( Bobbi Morse / Mockingbird in Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. ), were contractually obliged to appear in
39162-526: Was also reflected in interior scenes, lighting from outside the set or using lights with strong diffusion to create the same effect. An anamorphic format was chosen to highlight the expansive movements and landscapes in the film, with a special system used that split the camera's image sensor from its body to help with this approach. The production moved to Pinewood Studios in London in early June. Shortland hired someone to help Johansson and Pugh bond through trust exercises and other bonding activities, but
39376-415: Was announced in July as Daredevil: Born Again . In 2008, the first comic book to tie-into the MCU was released. Quesada explained that these comics would be set within the continuity of the films, but were not intended to be direct adaptions. Rather, they would explore "something that happened off screen" or flesh out something briefly mentioned. Feige was involved with the creation of the comics, with
39590-532: Was cast in the role for several MCU films beginning with Iron Man 2 (2010), and began discussing a solo film with Marvel. Work began in late 2017 and Shortland was hired in July 2018. Jac Schaeffer and Ned Benson contributed to the script before Pearson joined. The film was written to be a prequel that expands on Romanoff's history and helps end her MCU story following the character's death in Avengers: Endgame (2019). Shortland put an emphasis on
39804-440: Was contractually obligated to return. A scene of Romanoff wearing underwear and a T-shirt that Shortland enjoyed due to "how sexy [Johansson] is [when] she's in control" was cut from the film because test audiences criticized the scene as using the " male gaze ". Black Widow is one of the few Marvel films to feature an opening credits sequence, which Feige explained was because Shortland felt strongly about exploring what Dreykov
40018-553: Was created with half of an airplane rig on a hydraulic platform. Footage filmed on location in Atlanta was played on LED screens on the soundstage to create interactive lighting for the actors on set. To create the Budapest scenes, ILM worked with second unit director Darren Prescott. Romanoff and Belova's chase across the rooftops was a combination of practical and visual effects, while scenes involving smokestacks were created using virtual actors . The car chase scene in Budapest features
40232-426: Was delayed from its original May 2020 release date, the marketing team paused their campaign for the film. Once they began working towards a new release date in 2021, they were able to use character looks and story points they had not revealed in the initial campaign to build a new approach to the film. Ayaz explained that they did not want it to feel like they had returned to the same marketing campaign, which focused on
40446-410: Was done, along with the previously established Marvel Spotlight banner, to help indicate to audiences that they did not have to watch all of the studio's projects to understand the overall story and could choose which storylines and characters under these banners to follow. At San Diego Comic-Con 2024, the fifth Avengers film was retitled Avengers: Doomsday (2026), with Robert Downey Jr. cast as
40660-433: Was folded into Marvel Studios, with Marvel Studios taking over production of the remaining series and no further series expected to be developed by Marvel Television. In January 2021, Feige said "never say never" to potentially reviving the Netflix series, but noted that Marvel Studios was focused on their new Disney+ series. In May 2022, Marvel Studios was revealed to be developing a new Daredevil series for Disney+, which
40874-427: Was hired during pre-production to rewrite the film's script again. He ultimately received sole screenwriter credit, with Schaeffer and Benson receiving story credits. Shortland and Johansson had decided to take inspiration from the television series The Americans (2013–2018), which is about a Russian undercover spy family, by introducing Romanoff's own "family" of Russian spies including Belova. When Pearson joined
41088-451: Was influenced by Grosse Pointe Blank (1997), in which Romanoff would have been planted in a high school to assassinate a target and then 20 years later attends a high school reunion where she has to deal with the fallout of her earlier actions. The pitch heavily featured the character She-Hulk , and Marvel Studios executive Brad Winderbaum felt Gao was instead pitching a She-Hulk film that featured Black Widow. Gao would later be hired as
41302-402: Was initially not credited in Black Widow 's trailers, as pointed out by Jeff Sneider at Collider who wondered if contractual obstacles were to blame for Marvel not crediting the cinematographer at that point. Sneider felt Beristain would be credited in later marketing materials, and his hiring was confirmed in the film's official press advance. Beristein later confirmed that he joined
41516-606: Was later identified as Helen in Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings (2021). Olivier Richters portrays Ursa Major , a fellow inmate of Shostakov's. The film's post-credits scene sees Julia Louis-Dreyfus reprising her role as Valentina Allegra de Fontaine from the Disney+ series The Falcon and the Winter Soldier (2021) in an uncredited cameo appearance . Jeremy Renner reprises his MCU role as Clint Barton in an uncredited voice-only cameo. "What I tried to do
41730-463: Was launched in June 2010 with Jeph Loeb as head, and had entered into discussions with ABC to create a show set in the MCU by July 2012; the network went on to release Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. , Agent Carter , and Inhumans . The latter was a co-production with IMAX Corporation . In November 2013, Disney was set to provide Netflix with the live-action series Daredevil , Jessica Jones , Luke Cage , and Iron Fist , building up to
41944-461: Was made to look like a Russian farmstead, with added helicopter crash sites. The Thursley Parish Council objected to this filming, as it had occurred while Marvel Studios' application to use the site was still pending. The production planned to revisit the site in late August for further filming. Black Widow was officially announced at the 2019 San Diego Comic-Con later in July, with a release date of May 1, 2020, revealed alongside roles for some of
42158-452: Was on board for it and thinks that it's fun. Primarily because we've always remained consistent saying that the movie that we are making comes first. All of the connective tissue, all of that stuff is fun and is going to be very important if you want it to be. If the fans want to look further and find connections, then they're there. There are a few big ones obviously, that hopefully the mainstream audience will [be] able to follow as well. But...
42372-607: Was open to directing a Black Widow film. He liked the idea of making it a paranoid spy thriller that was " John le Carré on crack". In October, Johansson discussed the potential film being a prequel, saying, "you can bring it back to Russia. You could explore the Widow program. There's all kinds of stuff that you could do with it." She cautioned that she may not want to wear a "skin-tight catsuit" for much longer. The next February, Johansson said she would dedicate herself to making any potential Black Widow film "amazing. It would have to be
42586-466: Was opposed to a hybrid release for the film. If the film was delayed again, the film distribution industry believed Disney would move it to July 9, 2021, which at that point was the release date for Shang-Chi . Chapek reiterated the next month that Disney planned to release Black Widow in theaters on May 7, while Deadline Hollywood again noted the possibilities of delaying the film, releasing it simultaneously on Disney+, or releasing it in theaters for
42800-641: Was part of their Sacred Timeline, noting how there had been the corporate divide between what Marvel Studios created and what Marvel Television created. He continued that as time had passed, Marvel Studios began to see "how well integrated the [Marvel Television] stories are" and personally felt confident in saying Marvel Television's Daredevil was part of the Sacred Timeline. This section includes characters who will appear or have appeared in at least three MCU films/series and received main billing credit in at least two franchises. Additionally, Paul Bettany
43014-416: Was planning to produce its own films independently and distribute them through Paramount Pictures . Previously, Marvel had co-produced several superhero films based on Marvel Comics with Columbia Pictures , New Line Cinema , 20th Century Fox , and others. Marvel made relatively little profit from these licensing deals and wanted to get more money out of its films while maintaining artistic control of
43228-457: Was released digitally by Marvel Music and Hollywood Records on July 9, 2021. The film was officially announced at the 2019 San Diego Comic-Con by Feige, Shortland, and members of the cast. They discussed the film and introduced footage from the first 30 days of production. Some of that footage was included in a teaser trailer for the film that was released in December, with several commentators highlighting its spy thriller tone and calling
43442-447: Was released on September 6, 2023. WHIH Newsfront (2015–16) is an in-universe current affairs show that serves as a viral marketing campaign for some of the MCU films, created in partnership with Google for YouTube . The campaign is an extension of the fictional news network WHIH World News, which is seen reporting on major events in many MCU films and television series. Leslie Bibb reprises her role as Christine Everhart from
43656-490: Was reprehensible"; this was reported to be a disagreement with a Disney executive over the censoring of gay pride elements in Quantumania so the film could be released in Kuwait in compliance with the country's restrictive anti-LGBTQ laws . A Disney spokesperson reiterated that Alonso was fired due to "an indisputable breach of contract and a direct violation of company policy" among other factors. Disney and Alonso reached
43870-539: Was screened at the Taormina Film Fest on July 3, and was released in the United States on July 9, simultaneously in theaters and on Disney+ with Premier Access for US$ 30 . It premiered in 46 territories over the course of its first weekend. In the U.S. it opened in 4,100 theaters, with 375 in IMAX, over 800 in premium large formats, 1,500 in 3D , and 275 in specialty D-Box , 4DX , and ScreenX theaters. In IMAX screenings, approximately 22 minutes of
44084-401: Was still in development. Vulture contributor Chris Lee opined that not having any planned appearances in future MCU projects might have influenced Johansson's decision to move forward with filing the lawsuit. Disney issued a statement in response to the suit, saying it had "no merit whatsoever" and that Johansson had shown a "callous disregard for the horrific and prolonged global effects of
44298-422: Was the best preview night and opening day since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020. Its total weekend gross was $ 80.4 million, making it the top film of the weekend. This was the largest box office opening since the COVID-19 pandemic began, surpassing F9 's opening of $ 70 million, and the largest opening weekend since Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker (2019). The domestic gross
44512-476: Was the first actor to portray two main characters within the universe, voicing Tony Stark's artificial intelligence J.A.R.V.I.S. and portraying Vision. J. K. Simmons became the first actor to reprise a non-MCU role in the MCU when he appeared as J. Jonah Jameson (a role he played in Sam Raimi's Spider-Man trilogy from 2002 to 2007) in Spider-Man: Far From Home . Prior to his death in 2018, Stan Lee,
44726-524: Was the number one film in nearly all of these markets, including the markets in the Asia Pacific region where it opened—excluding Japan, where it was third —and all markets in the Latin America region. Black Widow had the top pandemic opening weekend in 15 European markets. IMAX accounted for $ 4.8 million of the weekend gross, from 59 countries, 11 of which set opening weekend records for
44940-450: Was the one who had approached her about directing the film; Shortland was hired in July, and watched all of Romanoff's MCU appearances in preparation for making the film. The Hollywood Reporter reported in October 2018 that Johansson would earn $ 15 million for the film, an increase from the "low-seven figure salary" that she earned for starring in The Avengers . Chris Evans and Chris Hemsworth each earned $ 15 million for
45154-431: Was the only film to surpass $ 100 million in domestic consumer spend on opening weekend since the start of the pandemic, and it marked the third largest opening ever for an MCU origin film behind Black Panther ($ 202 million) and Captain Marvel ($ 153.4 million). Following its opening weekend, Black Widow posted the largest non-holiday Monday ($ 7.16 million) and Tuesday ($ 7.6 million) gross in
45368-479: Was unable to take the role due to a previous commitment to star in Gulliver's Travels (2010). In March 2009, Scarlett Johansson signed on to play Natasha Romanoff / Black Widow, with her deal including options for multiple films. In September 2010, while promoting the home media release of Iron Man 2 , Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige stated that discussions with Johansson had already taken place regarding
45582-499: Was use the backdrop of the splintered Soviet Empire —a lawless insane asylum with 400-some odd nuclear missile silos. It was all about loose nukes, and I felt it was very timely and very cool. Unfortunately, as I was coming up on the final draft, a number of female vigilante movies came out. We had Tomb Raider and Kill Bill , which were the ones that worked, but then we had BloodRayne and Ultraviolet and Æon Flux . Æon Flux didn't open well, and three days after it opened,
45796-520: Was within some of the pre-release projections for the film, but it was below some updated industry projections that were made during the weekend after the opening night and preview grosses were known; Deadline Hollywood partially attributed this to the film's availability on Disney+ with Premier Access. When the $ 80.4 million theatrical gross was combined with the domestic Premier Access revenue of $ 55 million, totaling over $ 135.4 million for its opening weekend, Disney noted that Black Widow
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