Marvel Studios’ Black Widow will be hitting movie theatres around the world in May of this year – and we’re really looking forward to it (especially after the recent Super Bowl teaser)!
That being said, apart from a handful of the characters who’ll be appearing in the movie, we know very little about it.
All we do know is that it’ll be mostly set in between the events of 2016’s Captain America: Civil War and 2018’s Avengers: Infinity War, as well as the fact that Scarlett Johansson’s Natasha Romanoff will “find herself alone and forced to confront her past”.
In addition to the movie’s main cast of characters – Johansson’s Romanoff, Florence Pugh’s Yelena Belova, David Harbour’s Alexei Shostakov, Rachel Weisz’s Melina Vostokoff, Ray Winstone and Olivier Richters’ as yet unnamed characters and, if recent rumours are to be believed, O. T. Fagbenle’s Taskmaster – there will also be cameos from William Hurt’s General Ross and Robert Downey Jr.’s Tony Stark (R.I.P.).
But which other existing Marvel Cinematic Universe characters could make a surprise appearance in the movie?
In this piece, we’ll be looking at ten MCU cameos we’d welcome in Black Widow.
Let’s get started!
10. Nick Fury
In the MCU, Nick Fury is undoubtedly one of Natasha Romanoff’s oldest and most reliable allies.
Ever since she was recruited into S.H.I.E.L.D., Fury has been there to guide and assist her.
Samuel L. Jackson’s character was, of course, the director of S.H.I.E.L.D. for a considerable amount of time – and it was him who opted to recruit Romanoff into the Avengers along with the team’s other five founding members.
It would, therefore, be no surprise – but very cool indeed – to see him appearing in her solo outing (even if he was shown to be spending most of him time off-world in Spider-Man: Far From Home).
He’d be the obvious and perfect choice to help her lay low during her period as a fugitive – which is when the bulk of Black Widow is going to be set – and we’d love for that to be the case.
Given the strong connection between the two characters, it would be a shame to never see them interact again (you know, given that they never got to do so in Avengers: Endgame, the movie in which Romanoff died, due to the fact Fury had been dusted during the events of Avengers: Infinity War).
9. Maria Hill
You know what Natasha Romanoff could definitely use in Black Widow? Some help in the form of some girl power!
Cobie Smulders’ Maria Hill has really been nothing more than a bit-part character in the majority of her MCU appearances to date – and that really is a shame, because we think she’s been severely underutilised in the franchise.
In recent years, Hill has been reduced to having small parts in 2015’s Avengers: Age of Ultron, 2018’s Avengers: Infinity War, 2019’s Avengers: Endgame and Spider-Man: Far From Home (a role that actually turned out to be the Skrull Soren and not Maria Hill at all) – which is a far cry from her quite prominent role in the first Avengers movie back in 2012.
The championing of more strong female characters in superhero movies has risen dramatically in recent years – and nothing would make us happier than seeing one of the MCU’s finest appearing in Black Widow.
Romanoff and Hill teaming up to kick some villainous butt would be cool as hell – as would seeing a lot more of Hill going forward in the franchise!
8. James Rhodes
Over the years in the MCU, Natasha Romanoff has become good friends with Tony Stark’s best buddy – Don Cheadle’s James Rhodes.
They fought alongside each other in Sokovia in 2015’s Avengers: Age of Ultron and on Team Iron Man in 2016’s Captain America: Civil War, as well as on various other occasions, and they trust each other unequivocally.
With that in mind, there’s no reason why Cheadle shouldn’t cameo in Black Widow as his popular character – the man otherwise known as War Machine.
Although it seemed as though the pair hadn’t seen each other since Captain America: Civil War when they reunited in 2018’s Avengers: Infinity War, Black Widow could still depict Rhodes discussing Romanoff’s whereabouts or even talking to her over the phone.
Rhodes was one of the strongest supporters of the Sokovia Accords – and given that Black Widow will see Romanoff off doing things that defy them, he might have something to say about it.
Cheadle (and indeed his character) are both very popular – and a potential cameo from him in this movie would be widely welcomed. There’s no doubt about that.
7. Matt Murdock
It really is about time the movies of the MCU did something cool and unexpected by linking directly to a television series – and Black Widow certainly represents a great opportunity for that to happen.
In the comic books, one of the rather extensive number of characters who has been a love interest of Natasha Romanoff’s over the years includes Matt Murdock – and this potential cameo would be a perfect way to pay tribute to that relationship.
Charlie Cox was absolutely fantastic as the character in Netflix’s Daredevil and The Defenders, so he’d be a welcome inclusion in the movie for sure.
Maybe he could be revealed to have been Romanoff’s lawyer when she was in court at the climax of 2014’s Captain America: The Winter Soldier, prompting her to contact him for advice in her own movie. Heck, maybe she’ll even know he’s Daredevil and get his help on a more physical level?
With so many Disney+ shows set to link directly to MCU movies, maybe Marvel Studios will feel more compelled to start linking their movies to past MCU shows? This would certainly be a good start in that regard.
6. Clint Barton
Without any shadow of a doubt, Natasha Romanoff’s best friend in the world in the MCU is Clint Barton – the Avenger otherwise known as Hawkeye.
Romanoff came to S.H.I.E.L.D.’s attention back in the day for all the wrong reasons and it was Barton who was sent to take her down – but he made a different call which, ultimately, resulted in her becoming a force for good herself.
If she’s in trouble in Black Widow – which certainly seems as though it’ll be the case – who better to ask for assistance from than her best friend?
Maybe Barton will assist her in the field, maybe he’ll help to provide or find a safe house for her, or maybe he’ll just offer a comforting voice in her time of need.
Regardless of the context of a potential cameo from Jeremy Renner’s character, Barton’s appearance would be most welcome – and probably the least surprising of all the characters on this list, given his extremely strong connection to the movie’s titular character.
We might even get to see what happened in Budapest…
5. Sharon Carter
We touched upon the recent demand for more strong female characters in superhero movies in our Maria Hill entry – and another character who undoubtedly fits into that category is Emily VanCamp’s Sharon Carter.
When we talk about underutilised characters in the MCU – which we also did in the Maria Hill entry – Carter is, without a doubt, amongst the most prominent examples.
Although she’s set to appear in the upcoming The Falcon and the Winter Soldier on Disney+, she’s actually only appeared in two MCU movies to date – 2014’s Captain America: The Winter Soldier and 2016’s Captain America: Civil War – and that’s a crying shame, so it’d be great to see her again in Black Widow.
Carter proved herself to be a formidable agent in both of her appearances in the franchise to date – and Natasha Romanoff will undoubtedly know what she’s capable of, so maybe she could call upon her for some assistance in the field.
Giving VanCamp more screen-time would certainly go down well with MCU fans, for a variety of reasons – not least because she plays a very cool character!
4. Phil Coulson
Given that Black Widow is likely to delve into the past a little bit, it would be really nice to see Clark Gregg’s Phil Coulson on the big screen again.
Of course, the majority of the movie will be set between 2016’s Captain America: Civil War and 2018’s Avengers: Infinity War – and, as far as the movies of the MCU are concerned, Coulson was long dead by then – but flashback scenes could very easily allow Gregg to reprise his role as the enormously popular character.
He already did so in 2018’s Captain Marvel, which was largely set in the 1990s – and given that he is bound to have spent some time with Natasha Romanoff during her early S.H.I.E.L.D. days, Black Widow certainly represents another opportunity for it to happen.
Heck, given that Coulson was actually resurrected in television’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., we think it’s about time that the news spread to the Avengers – and Black Widow could (and should) be the movie in which that happens.
On that note, we’d absolutely welcome a cameo from Gregg.
Bring Coulson back for good! That’s what we say!
3. Sam Wilson
When Natasha Romanoff went on the run after helping Steve Rogers to escape in 2016’s Captain America: Civil War, one of the Avengers who joined her was Anthony Mackie’s Sam Wilson AKA Falcon.
It stands to reason, therefore, that she’d be with him at some point during the events of the Black Widow movies – and we’d love to see him make an appearance in it.
Wilson already made a very small appearance in 2015’s Ant-Man, showing that Mackie is willing to make such cameos – and he’s just the kind of relatively minor character (compared to the MCU’s real big players) who could make such an appearance again.
Avengers: Infinity War showed that Wilson and Romanoff had grown closer as friends while they’d been fugitives together so, to be quite frank, we’re almost expecting him to appear in some capacity in Black Widow – however minor an appearance it may be.
Whether Romanoff needs a friend, a confidant, or just someone to help her kick some ass, Sam Wilson would be an ideal person to call upon in pretty much every respect.
2. Steve Rogers
Of course, wherever Natasha Romanoff and Sam Wilson were during their time as fugitives, Steve Rogers AKA Captain America would have been there too – so we’d definitely love to see a cameo from Chris Evans’ character in Black Widow.
Even if the movie is entirely set during a time when they weren’t with each other, Rogers would always be one of the first people Romanoff thought to contact whenever she needed help, so it makes sense that the two would at least speak at some point – and that could easily be depicted on screen for a brief Evans cameo!
This cameo would be especially welcomed by fans given that Avengers: Endgame seemingly brought Chris Evans’ tenure as Steve Rogers to an end.
The character travelled back in time to be with Peggy Carter, then reemerged in 2023 as an elderly man, having lived a long and happy life.
One more surprise appearance in a movie set before Rogers left his life as an Avenger behind would be a great example of fan service – and we really do hope it happens. He made cameos in 2013’s Thor: The Dark World and 2017’s Spider-Man: Homecoming, after all…
1. Bruce Banner (NOT Hulk)
Now, the very brief romance (can we even call it that?) between Natasha Romanoff and Bruce Banner in 2015’s Avengers: Age of Ultron was largely criticised by MCU fans because it seemed so… well… pointless.
That criticism has been justified so far because, five years later – and now that Romanoff is dead, with no hope of continuing said romance – it hasn’t been revisited.
However, Black Widow could rectify that – at least a little bit.
Obviously Bruce Banner will be in space during the time period in which the majority of the movie is set, but there could be flashback scenes showing his relationship with Romanoff being fleshed-out a little – and in her loneliness it would at least be nice to see that she was thinking of him.
Of course, we must stress that we absolutely do not want to see the Hulk in Black Widow.
Like Captain America: The Winter Soldier – which was brilliant – it will be a more grounded MCU offering than most of the movies in the franchise, so seeing a character like the Hulk would feel jarring.
Can you imagine if Thor had appeared in Winter Soldier, for example? It would have ruined it.
But yeah, seeing Banner in some capacity would be very cool.
Would you welcome any of these cameos in Black Widow? Which other existing MCU characters would you like to see appearing in the movie? Let us know your thoughts!
