'Black Widow' Movie Rumored to Involve Y2K

A new rumor suggests that Marvel's upcoming Black Widow movie may ring in the millennium all over again.

A rumor being reported by MCU Cosmic suggests that the Y2K computer virus that threatened to upend civilization when the ball dropped on New Year's Eve 1999, which sent doomsday survivalists into a preemptive panic that ultimately amounted to nothing, could be a plot point in Marvel's Black Widow movie. It wouldn't necessarily be the sole focus or central plot, but it would have some presence in the film.

The rumor is being reported after MCU Cosmic heard it from a "very reliable source," but not so reliable as they would say it is "in any way confirmed."

An interesting point noted in the report is that Captain America: The Winter Soldier confirmed that Natasha Romanoff was born in 1984, making her 33-years-old, the same age as the actress who plays her, Scarlett Johansson. That means Nat would have been 16-years-old in 1999.

Those facts leave us to wonder, assuming there's' some truth to the rumor, if Marvel expects Johansson to portray the character at half her age (How good is that digital de-aging technology they use, exactly?), or if the Y2K bug plot could just be a flashback, perhaps even a cold open at the beginning of the film.

Black Widow will be Marvel's second female-led superhero movie after 2019's Captain Marvel. Analysts suggest that female-driven superhero movies are the future of the box office, but with Captain Marvel set in the 1990s and Black Widow a prequel supposedly set around the turn of the century, Marvel seems intent on anchoring its heroines in the past, at least for now.

Here's a reportedly leaked synopsis for Black Widow:

"At birth, the Black Widow (aka Natasha Romanova) is given to the KGB, which grooms her to become its ultimate operative. When the U.S.S.R. breaks up, the government tries to kill her as the action moves to present-day New York, where she is a freelance operative. The standalone film will find Romanoff living in the United States 15 years after the fall of the Soviet Union."

No mention of Y2K specifically there, and "15 years after the fall of the Soviet Union" would set the movie in 2006, well after the Y2K scare had run its course.

What do you think of Y2K possibly having a role to play in the Black Widow movie? Let us know in the comments!

Cate Shortland is set to direct Black Widow for Marvel from a script penned by Jac Schaeffer. Filming is expected to begin in July 2016.

Other upcoming Marvel Cinematic Universe movies include Captain Marvel on March 8, 2019; Avengers 4 on May 3, 2019; and Spider-Man: Far From Home on July 5th, 2019.