Marvel Studios will kick off their Phase 4 with Black Widow, which gives Natasha Romanoff (Scarlet Johansson) her own film, and is bringing back a number of other MCU characters. It works around the character’s death in Avengers: Endgame by setting it in the two years between Captain America: Civil War and Avengers: Infinity War.

The Black Widow standalone is directed by Cate Shortland and will see Natasha on a personal mission that will reunite her with several key players in her life before joining the Avengers. Because of this, the film will introduce us to new characters such as David Harbour’s Alexei Shostakov aka Red Guardian, Florence Pugh as Yelena Belova, Rachel Weisz’s Melina, and O-T Fagbenle as Mason.

The mysterious Taskmaster is the narrative’s primary antagonist. However, some familiar faces are also expected to show up to properly establish its connection to the bigger MCU lore and fully flesh out Natasha’s backstory. Here’s every Marvel character set to return in Black Widow.

Black Widow

Introduced in Jon Favreau’s 2010 movie Iron Man 2 as Nick Fury’s (Samuel L. Jackson) trusted S.H.I.E.L.D. associate tasked to keep an eye on Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.), Natasha was one of the first few heroes to debut in the MCU. Since then, she’s become a key player in the franchise, appearing in six more films, until she met her tragic (and controversial) death in Avengers: Endgame. Despite having a founding hero status, Black Widow was often relegated to a supporting character - most of her adventures were in the service of her fellow heroes and barely focused on her. So while it’s a tad too late for a Black Widow standalone film, it’s still a welcome project.

As the lead character in the Black Widow movie, Nat will be front and center of the story. Marketing for the project has been careful about not revealing any spoilers, but it makes an emphasis on the concept of family. She repeatedly talked about finding her place in the world with the Avengers, and she saw her fellow heroes as her family. This explains why she was so distraught when Thanos killed most of them. But with her upcoming standalone introducing us to her supposed family prior to becoming Earth’s Mightiest Heroes, the narrative can provide us some more insight on her thought process for willingly sacrificing herself in Vormir. This could potentially justify her death in the movie.

Thunderbolt Ross

The marketing for Black Widow has been mostly focused on Natasha and her old family. It reveals her coming home to Yelena, and reuniting with Melina and Alexei. However, one particular MCU character has also been confirmed by the trailers - Thunderbolt Ross. Debuting in 2008’s The Incredible Hulk, it wouldn’t be until Civil War since he made his next MCU appearance as the chief enforcer of the Sokovia Accords. He subsequently made a cameo in Infinity War as he attempted to have the Secret Avengers - Captain America (Chris Evans), Black Widow and Falcon (Sam Wilson) - arrested for their refusal to sign the same accords.

Prior to debuting in the film’s promotional clips, William Hurt’s return as General Ross was already revealed by set photos. What’s interesting is that the images featured Hurt a bit older and with a cane which gave fans the idea that Black Widow may be planting the seeds for the Thunderbolts. However, in the trailer, we see him de-aged which implies that his bit in the film will take place long before he made his MCU introduction in The Incredible Hulk.

Tony Stark (Rumored)

Black Widow’s setting allows Natasha’s return to the MCU before her death in Endgame. It also means that other heroes who already bit the bullet can pop up in the film including Tony Stark/Iron Man. Like Black Widow, Downey’s superhero character sacrificed his life to defeat Thanos in Avengers: Endgame. Oftentimes, Natasha and Tony’s relationship had been overlooked with the former typically partnered with Captain America (Chris Evans), however, it’s worth noting that the pair were the first two original Avengers introduced in the film series.

However, Downey has been mum on his return to the MCU via Black Widow, and with no confirmation whatsoever from Marvel Studios, it’s best not to hold out hope that Tony will appear in the movie. That being said, given that the film is set on the heels of Civil War where they worked closely together, it’s possible that Iron Man somehow factors into the upcoming narrative.

Clint Barton/Hawkeye (Rumored)

As Natasha’s closest friend in the MCU, seeing Jeremy Renner’s Clint Barton/Hawkeye in Black Widow is also plausible. As the recalled, the Avengers’ resident marksman was tasked to take down Black Widow, but decided against it. Instead, she brought her in to S.H.I.E.L.D. where they both became integral operatives. There’s a strong connection between Clint and Natasha - both willing to sacrifice themselves to save the other as seen in their ferocious battle in Vormir which the latter ultimately won. However, one prominent part of their history has yet to be revealed in the Budapest incident.

The pair continued to refer to the said encounter several times in the MCU, the latest of which was when they’re aboard the Benatar to Vormir. Despite this, we know nothing much about the said incident, and since Black Widow is supposed to wrap Natasha’s story, it’s possible that we finally learn more about it in the movie. Backing up this idea is the fact that Black Widow’s first trailer opens with an aerial shot of Budapest.

Nick Fury (Rumored)

Like Clint, Nick Fury was instrumental in pulling Natasha away from her spy origins and bringing her to S.H.I.E.L.D. and ultimately the Avengers Initiative. Over the years, she’s developed a sense of kinship with the former organization director. While we didn’t see much of them working together after Iron Man 2, Natasha’s reaction upon learning about Fury’s (fake) death in Captain America: The Winter Soldier is an indication of how important he is to her. If Black Widow indeed tackle the Budapest incident with Hawkeye, it makes sense that we also see Fury at one point in the movie.

Jimmy Woo and Sonny Burch (Rumored)

So far, all those rumored MCU characters to appear in Black Widow have a history with Natasha, but there are also ongoing claims that Randall Park’s Jimmy Woo and Walter Goggins’ Sonny Burch are said to be appearing in the film. Both are fairly new players in the MCU debuting in 2018’s Ant-Man & the Wasp. Woo is confirmed to have a role in Marvel Studios’ Disney+ series, WandaVision, while Goggins’ future is still uncertain. Assuming that they do factor in Black Widow regardless of how, why and when, it would further enforce the interconnected storytelling that the MCU is known for.

More: Why Marvel’s Black Widow Movie Took So Long To Happen

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