Black Widow Movie Rumored to Take Place after Captain America: Civil War

Black Widow might not be set in the pre-Iron Man time many thought it’d be after all. Recent reports, sourced from none other than Avengers star Sebastian Stan himself, suggest the solo Black Widow movie coming out will be set between the events of Captain America: Civil War and Avengers: Infinity War. Stan was recently at a comic convention in Italy when he let the news slip about the timing of the movie.

The news has been reported by multiple outlets, though no audio or video of the panel in question has surfaced online to allow for confirmation. One of Stan’s other panels earlier in the day has since surfaced online, though the Black Widow comments were reportedly in a second panel later in the day.

Should the film take place after Civil War, that’d mark a big change from the original reports that it was supposed to be set around the turn of the century, prior to Natasha Romanoff’s (Scarlett Johansson) time in SHIELD and the Avengers. If it is indeed in a post-Civil War world, one would think Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) or Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie) would make an appearance as the three formed the Secret Avengers in the wake of the Sokovia Accords. On the flip side, nothing’s stopping Romanoff from splitting off from the group for a quick side mission in the two-plus years between the second Captain America and third Avengers films.

Whatever the case, it’s pretty evident that the film’s going to end up being a prequel in some shape, way, or form, especially after the character’s death in Avengers: Endgame. When we spoke to Endgame scribes Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely, the two were entirely unaware of plans for a Black Widow solo movie when they decided to write the character off.

“We weren’t fully aware of [the Black Widow movie], but, even when that became clearer that it was one of the things that they were intending to do, no one told us not to do what we were doing,” Markus explained to ComicBook.com.

“Right, and that’s function of her arc, right?” McFeely echoed. “Her finally finding a purpose, a family, and being willing to sacrifice everything for that family. I think of her as perhaps the strongest person in the whole movie. She’s the woman on the wall in the five years. And even when Captain America has doubts, and remember he says to her, ‘Maybe we don’t need to be doing this.’ She does not share that opinion.”

What do you think Black Widow will be about? Let us know your theories either in the comments below or by hitting me up on Twitter at @AdamBarnhardt!

Avengers: Endgame is now showing and will be followed by Spider-Man: Far From Home, which swings into theaters July 2nd.