After ‘Black Widow,’ Kevin Feige Leaves Open the Possibility of Other Marvel Prequels

Marvel Studios head suggests that his team could once again dig into the past of other MCU superheroes

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Marvel Studios

“Black Widow” takes a different approach to one of the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s most popular superheroes, going back to before Natasha Romanov’s sacrifice in “Avengers: Endgame” to show moments and important figures from her past. And while Marvel Studios head Kevin Feige doesn’t currently have another such prequel in the works, he revealed he’s not opposed to revisiting the format later down the road.

“Certainly this film and this story is a particular case for Natasha. But the notion of exploring the past, present and future of the MCU is certainly in the cards for all of our characters,” Feige said during a recent press junket for the latest Marvel film. “This particular story of this particular cast is very personal, very specific to Natasha.”

But don’t get your hopes up. If another prequel were to happen, it would be a while before we see it. Marvel Studios has already loaded up its slate of theatrical releases and Disney+ miniseries through 2023, with heroes like Doctor Strange, Thor and the Guardians of the Galaxy getting sequels, while new heroes like Ms. Marvel, Moon Knight, Shang-Chi and the Eternals will make their debuts on the big screen and on streaming.

But now that the Infinity Saga has ended, Feige says it was time to revisit Black Widow and connect her past to the future of the MCU that will — at least we think — continue without her.

“We very specifically knew there was a large period of her life that we didn’t know about, not just her childhood, but this period of time between ‘Civil War’ and ‘Infinity War.’” Feige said. “And that period, we felt it was right to creatively focus on to be able to discover more about our past, more about our present. And… give a hint at the legacy in the future.”

That “legacy” Feige is referring to is almost certainly Yelena Belova, a fellow assassin that was trained alongside Natasha in the Red Room and whom all signs point to becoming the next Black Widow. Belova, played by Florence Pugh, will also appear in the upcoming Disney+ show “Hawkeye,” meaning she will get some time to talk with Natasha’s closest friend, Clint Barton.

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