How the MCU Fumbled Scarlett Johansson’s Final Bow as Black Widow
Eleven years of MCU devotion peaked with Avengers: Endgame, and at its heart was Scarlett Johansson’s Natasha Romanoff — the stealth MVP whose journey from Iron Man 2 to that gut-punch sacrifice set the stage for her most surprising chapter yet.
Quick one: Jeremy Renner just reopened the Black Widow wound. At a recent con, he said Natasha's death in Avengers: Endgame was originally a heavier, more devastating scene before Marvel reshot it to be simpler. Six years after Endgame, that hits a nerve, because if any character earned the full, unfiltered goodbye, it was Scarlett Johansson's Natasha Romanoff.
Renner says the original Vormir scene went harder
At San Antonio Spacecon, in a clip shared on X, Renner talked about filming Natasha and Clint's scramble on Vormir and how it changed late in the game:
"Much more emotional" and "much more impactful"... "We reshot it to make it much simpler."
Translation: there was a version designed to absolutely wreck us, and Marvel opted for a cleaner cut.
Endgame trusted us everywhere else. Why blink here?
Endgame capped 11 years of MCU storytelling that started for Natasha back in Iron Man 2 (2010) and ended in 2019 with her sacrifice. The Russos stuffed the movie with payoffs that assumed the audience could track the emotional weight: Sam's "On your left" callback to The Winter Soldier; Cap lifting Mjolnir and finally dropping "Avengers Assemble" after Age of Ultron teased it; Tony closing the circle with "I am Iron Man." None of that was spoon-fed.
So yeah, I don't think the movie needed to soften Black Widow's exit. The scene we got is already sad. Knowing there was a version that cut even deeper makes her sendoff feel a bit sanded down in a film that otherwise never flinched.
Did Black Widow (2021) give Natasha her due, or just pass the baton?
Johansson finally got a solo prequel in 2021, and on paper that should have been the victory lap and closure she'd been denied. In practice, the movie did what the MCU does: it teed up the future. It introduced Yelena Belova as the heir apparent and, notably, set up not one but two characters who would go on to become regulars. All fine for franchise-building. Less great if you were waiting for Natasha's full redemption arc.
As of 2025, the mantle sits with Florence Pugh's Yelena. She's pricklier than Natasha, with a darker backstory and a flexible moral compass that lets her bounce between mercenary and hero. She's sharp, funny, and basically built to live in the gray. As a successor, she's compelling. As a replacement for the closure Johansson deserved, it's complicated.
Black Widow (2021) essentials
- Director: Cate Shortland
- Screenplay by: Eric Pearson
- Cast: Scarlett Johansson, Florence Pugh, David Harbour, Olga Kurylenko, William Hurt, Ray Winstone, Rachel Weisz
- Runtime: 134 minutes
- Budget: $288.5 million
- Box office: $379.8 million
- Rotten Tomatoes: 79%
- IMDb: 6.6
Where I land
Natasha Romanoff was the witty, fearless, razor-sharp heart of the Avengers. If Renner's right and a more crushing version of her final moment exists, I wish Marvel had trusted the audience to handle it. Endgame gave everyone else their maximum-impact beat. She earned hers.
What did you think of the Vormir scene as released? Should Marvel have gone for the harder cut if it meant a truer goodbye for Natasha? Drop your take.
Most MCU films are streaming on Disney+.