‘Black Widow’ Movie: Scarlett Johansson’s Marvel Character A Feminist Role Model, Says ‘Agents Of SHIELD’s’ Clark Gregg
A Black Widow movie cast with Scarlett Johansson as the lead character may seem like an obvious choice considering the popularity of the Avengers movies. After all, Thor, Captain America, Hulk, and Iron Man already have been given titled movies, although poor Hawkeye has also been sitting on the backburner so long that his britches are starting to burn. Meanwhile, lesser known characters like Ant-Man even had his own movie.
Agents Of SHIELD actor Clark Gregg, who plays as Phil Coulson, says the Black Widow is “too valuable” to ” waste,” and he believes Marvel will eventually consider doing a Black Widow movie. Some fans believe there is a feminist angle to making such a film, but you have to wonder why the studio heads are not seeing dollar signs considering the recent popularity of female lead action movies like Rey of Star Wars: The Force Awakens. Never mind, it’d be a frickin’ Scarlett Johansson movie!
In a related report by the Inquisitr, the role of the Black Widow in Captain America: Civil War may have Natasha Romanoff taking a seat, figuratively. As Johansson explained during a December interview, she essentially plays the role of a “mediator” since the Black Widow is not making the fight personal like Iron Man and Captain America.
But what Johansson does take personally is how fans have been concerned about how the character of Marvel’s Black Widow is being developed over time.
“You know, I’m happy that people scrutinize the Widow’s storylines and care about it and are invested. I’d much rather it be like that than have a kind of ‘meh’ reaction. For me to have people say that would be, ouch, you know?” Johansson explained. “Everything that I’ve done with the Widow, to me makes sense. It’s in line with active decisions that I’ve made for the character.”
Black Widow Movie A Feminist Role Model?
When Digital Spy interviewed Clark Gregg, they spoke on a variety of subjects, but one of the highlights was his belief that a Scarlett Johansson Black Widow movie needed to happen.
“Black Widow has been around from day one of this… and is portrayed with this kind of heavy-hearted ferocity by Scarlett Johansson — who I think is as good as any actor working today,” he explained. “It seems like it would be tragic, it would be a waste, if that character wasn’t given the spotlight in the way that some of the other characters have been. If I know Marvel, they won’t let that happen, because she’s too valuable an asset.”
As further justification, Gregg used Agents Of SHIELD as an example of entertainment that provides good female role models for girls.
The actor has a 13-year-old daughter, and he says, “One of the things I’m proudest about with our show is that there are very strong, very intelligent women who are just as responsible for SHIELD not being exterminated as Phil Coulson.”
Unfortunately, in the past, there has been some controversy related to sexism. Critics declared the portrayal of the Black Widow sexist based upon the way Scarlett Johansson was posed in movie posters compared to the guys. It doesn’t help that Avengers movies had the Black Widow bounced from kissing Steve Rogers to hooking up with Bruce Banner. In 2015, actor Jeremy Renner (Hawkeye) confirmed the stereotype by calling Black Widow a “sl*t,” only to have Chris Evans (Captain America) make it worse.
“I was going to say something along that line, she’s a complete wh*re,” Chris added in the interview. “She’ll flirt with everybody, leading everybody on.”
In the following days, the two men went on a quasi-apology tour, but, in the end, Renner seemed to believe that was still the case.
“If you slept with four of the six Avengers, no matter how much fun you had, you’d be a sl*t,” Jeremy said. “I’d be a sl*t. Just saying.”
Black Widow Movie Release Date Not Possible For Years To Come?
Even if Scarlett Johansson’s Black Widow movie is able to overcome some of this negative history by delving into origins history, it still seems unlikely audiences will see the film for quite a while. Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige once said the Black Widow movie was in the very early stages of development, but that was almost six years ago. In addition, the film studios usually block off important release dates years in advance, and Marvel has already announced their plans through 2019.
The solution is a Black Widow TV show. Fansided suggests the history of the Russian assassin in the comic books may allow another female actor to play the lead role of a younger Natasha Romanova.
“Imagine a series where the first few episodes are filled with flashbacks to her being orphaned, subsequently taken and trained by Russian intelligence and then a deep dive into the characters life as an assassin. This series could be both serial, meaning each week we see Romanova take on a singular entity or a serialized series that spreads the story and her missions over the course of an entire season.”
The story of the Black Widow Program is focused on the creation of a female sleeper agent, so Johansson does not necessarily need to be the main actress. Instead, it is possible Johansson’s role could be limited to a voiceover telling the story of the female Marvel character.
What would do you think: would a Black Widow movie or TV series be the best option?
[Image via Marvel Studios]
