Scarlett Johansson has brushed off rumours that she could somehow return as Natasha Romanoff in Avengers Doomsday: “I don’t want to mess with that.”
Mortality in the Marvel Universe isn’t really a thing unless you’re Uncle Ben. The franchise could quite easily bring back Scarlett Johansson’s beloved hero Natasha Romanoff, aka Black Widow, in the future, but that doesn’t mean it should happen. Bringing her back from the dead would absolutely render her sacrifice in Avengers: Endgame meaningless. That said, the MCU decided to bring back Robert Downey Jr. in Doomsday… but as arch villain Doctor Doom.
The ensemble cast of Doomsday has been mostly announced, and it features the return of a number of beloved heroes, as well as the all-new Fantastic Four, numerous legacy X-Men characters, and most of the New Avengers team. There’s a few notable omissions from the official list (although they may well still appear), including the likes of Mark Ruffalo as Hulk, Chris Pratt as Star-Lord, and Jeremy Renner as Hawkeye.
As for Johansson, while she misses the role, she values the narrative’s integrity and thinks her character’s death in Endgame shouldn’t be altered. “I miss my buddies and really would love to be with them forever, but what works about the character is that her story is complete,’ she told Vanity Fair. “I don’t want to mess with that. For fans too—it’s important for them.”
Johansson was the MCU’s most prominent female performer before her swan song with Black Widow (2021) — which was a perfect sendoff for the character, as well as ushering in a new era of characters, such as Yelena Belova (Florence Pugh), Alexei (David Harbour), and Taskmaster (Olga Kurylenko). Natasha may be gone, but her influence will continue to ripple throughout the Marvel Universe for years to come.
Avengers: Doomsday releases in theatres May 1, 2026.
