Thunderbolts* Could Be The Black Widow Sequel We’ll (Likely) Never See

Jake Schreier is bringing Phase 5 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe to a close with Thunderbolts*, and while previous phases have typically come to an end with an Avengers outing, it doesn’t look like Earth’s Mightiest heroes are available this time around. Bringing together a rag-tag team of antiheroes, it’s a who’s who of MCU mercenaries back for more when Thunderbolts* finally comes to screens on May 2, 2025.

While Phase 5 of the MCU has flipped between magical and mythical outings ranging from Ant-Man and the Wasp to Agatha All Along, it’s also dipped heavily into the Multiverse for the record-breaking Deadpool & Wolverine. Both Captain America: Brave New World and Thunderbolts* feel like more grounded affairs, and with the former being a clear follow-up to The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, Thunderbolts* has shades of being a Black Widow sequel.

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Thunderbolts* Is Missing Melina Vostokoff

Thunderbolts* isn’t officially a Black Widow sequel, namely due to the fact that Scarlett Johansson’s Natasha Romanoff is nowhere to be seen. Black Widow took a seat at an awkward place in the MCU timeline, setting itself before Romanoff’s Avengers: Endgame death despite coming out two years later. Still, the return of Florence Pugh’s Yelena Belova and David Harbour’s Alexei Shostakov/Red Guardian in Thunderbolts* make it something of a family reunion. Even Olga Kurylenko’s Taskmaster returns after being a secondary antagonist in Black Widow.

Alongside Natasha sitting this out, there’s the noticeable absence of Rachel Weisz’s Melina Vostokoff. Whereas Alexei served as the patriarch of Black Widow’s faux family unit, Melina was just as important as its matriarch. As well as having been through the mysterious Red Room four times to make her a ruthless killer, Melina also helped develop the brainwashing Red Dust that brought the younger Widows into line. Having betrayed General Dreykov (Ray Winstone) at the end of Black Widow, Melina worked with Red Guardian to liberate the Widows and ran off into the sunset having survived the literal fall of the Red Room Academy.

Having shared a kiss with Alexei (in a deleted scene), it was presumed that Melina joined him on the run from Thaddeus Ross (played by the late William Hurt). Ross has been promoted to President of the United States in Brave New World, Yelena appeared in Hawkeye and was clearly emotional following the death of her ‘sister’, and Red Guardian is confirmed to catch up with Belova in Thunderbolts*. It seems likely that Alexei will fill in the gaps about what happened between him and Melina, because, by the look of the Thunderbolts* trailers, he’s very much living the bachelor lifestyle. Then again, adding Melina to the ensemble can give audiences the Black Widow sequel they’ll (likely) never see.

Early reports from Production Weekly in January 2024 (via ComicBook.com) suggested that Weisz would be reprising her role as Melina in Thunderbolts*. The same report claimed that Laurence Fishburne would also return as Bill Foster/Goliath, which could make sense due to the addition of Hannah John-Kamen’s Ava Starr/Ghost. As the months have rumbled on and the many Thunderbolts* trailers have come out, there’s been no sign of Weisz or Fishburne. It suggests that even if they’re part of the packed cast, they’ll be in minor roles. Either way, it feels like Black Widow 2 might never happen.

Why a Black Widow Sequel (Probably) Won’t Happen

When Marvel Studios regained the rights to Black Widow from Lionsgate in 2006, plans for a solo movie fell through, and instead, Emily Blunt was sought to play Natasha Romanoff in Iron Man 2. Blunt was replaced by Scarlett Johansson due to prior commitments, with the latter soon becoming a mainstay of the MCU. Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige was discussing a Black Widow standalone for Johansson as early as 2010, but due to a focus on the first Avengers movie, plans were placed on ice. Despite Romanoff being a major player in the first four Avengers movies, her mythical solo movie never materialized…until.

Black Widow eventually moved forward with Cate Shortland at the helm, but some 11 years after the MCU first threw around the idea of Johansson leading her own movie, the novelty had worn off. Many agree that Black Widow simply didn’t need to exist, and aside from feeling like somewhat of a female James Bond movie (with a fun nod to Moonraker), it was criticized for everything from a weak villain to questionable accents. Most frustratingly for fans of Johansson’s portrayal, Black Widow completely glossed over her time in the Red Room and the trauma that turned Romanoff into the no-nonsense character who had no problem showing the men of the Avengers how it’s done.

There was also controversy surrounding Black Widow’s box office and unfortunate pandemic release, which led to Johansson filing a lawsuit against Disney. Although Black Widow’s $378 million worldwide box office puts it ahead of The Marvels’ $206 million, it’s hardly a record-breaking figure. Despite all of this, there was talk about a sequel, with Shortland telling RadioTimes.com how she envisaged Black Widow 2 with a focus on a different character or even Red Guardian. Nothing more has come from the idea, and in 2023, Marvel Studios Director of Visual Development Andy Park seemed to scupper those plans when he referred to Thunderbolts* as a “Black Widow sequel.”

As well as a question mark about what happened to the legions of Widows who escaped the Red Room’s clutches, there’s also Melina’s potential to evolve into her villainous alter ego of the Iron Maiden. Weisz voiced her again in What If…? season 2, but when Melina returned in season 3, it was Kari Wahlgren providing the vocals. Black Widow has been viewed differently in light of the MCU’s recent fumbles. Elements like Pugh’s lauded portrayal of Yelena set up a bright future for the character beyond Thunderbolts*, and although Shortland once said, “these girls have a lot of asses still to kick,” a Black Widow sequel seems unlikely. Even though it seems hard to squeeze Melina Vostokoff into Thunderbolts*, it would be a shame if her character doesn’t get some form of development further down the line.

Thunderbolts*

Release Date

May 2, 2025

Director

Jake Schreier

Writers

Lee Sung-jin, Eric Pearson, Joanna Calo

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  Florence Pugh

  Yelena Belova

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  Sebastian Stan

  James Bucky Barnes / Winter Soldier

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  David Harbour

  Alexei Shostakov / Red Guardian

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  Wyatt Russell

  John Walker / U.S. Agent