Every six months or so there’s a dramatic increase of movie goers rushing to the movies, the author of this article being just one member of the mob. Everyone’s quickly rushing to see the newest movie in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. However, there’s one movie in particular which has yet to be announced: a Black Widow movie. While some people say that this is not something they want or need, the majority of fans fans have been calling for one since Iron Man 2.
The large majority of people who don’t want a Black Widow movie claim that it would be “boring” and “girly.” Anyone who claims this probably hasn’t looked up the Black Widow’s backstory. Natasha Romanova was born in 1928 and orphaned at a young age. From this point on, she was brainwashed, genetically modified, and trained as part of the “Black Widow op” through the Red Room (the same people who created the Winter Soldier). She goes on to become the world’s best assassin before defecting when she is recruited to S.H.I.E.L.D. by Hawkeye and eventually joining the Avengers. Once an Avenger, Black Widow finds the families of those she killed and helps them in any way she can. If this isn’t a amazing redemption story, then I don’t know what is. And definitely not boring.
So the question now is why doesn’t Black Widow have a movie? The answer is simple: Hollywood is sexist.
Marvel CEO Ike Perlmutter has been documented as saying that “Female superhero movies don’t pay.” The only evidence of this is movies from over 30 years ago, before superhero movies were popular. Even the lowest grossing superherione movie, “Supergirl,” which made $14 million, has a higher national gross then Marvel’s lowest grossing movie, “Punisher: War Zone,” which made a record low of $8 million. However, this should not be a concern with a Black Widow movie. Black Widow already has an active fan base, so all of her fans will pay to see the movie. Also, as a part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, superhero fans in general would go see the movie.
Further proof that Marvel is being sexist on the matter is that they recently announced a Captain Marvel movie, saying they can’t be sexist because they have a superhero movie in the works. However, one female centric movie does not equal the high number of male centric movies Marvel has released.
Lastly, Marvel has been known for listening to what their fans want. They have recently announced Deadpool, Gambit, and Doctor Strange movies, all of which fans have been demanding for years. However, fans have been calling for a Black Widow movie for longer than any of these movies, and Marvel still refuses to make it.
If Marvel refuses to make a Black Widow movie then they should combine Black Widow and Hawkeye into one movie. Fans have been calling for a Hawkeye movie since his first appearance in “Thor.” A combination Black Widow and Hawkeye movie should appease everyone because the movies are made in this situation, and they will stay true to the backstories since the stories are so closely intertwined. In any way that they do it, Marvel should make a Black Widow movie to show that they “get women.”