While it's been common knowledge for a while that Black Widow would be set between the events of Captain America: Civil War and Avengers: Infinity War, that made it no less shocking when former S.H.I.E.L.D. agent Natasha Romanoff was killed off during the events of Avengers: Endgame last year.
Now, it's beginning to look like the character's solo movie will primarily revolve around her passing the "Black Widow" mantle to Florence Pugh's Yelena Belova, but actress Scarlett Johansson has now revealed (via Digital Spy) how she learned of Black Widow's shocking fate in the 2019 ensemble.
"Kevin called me and said, 'Look, obviously we're at a place where there's going to be big sacrifices and big losses'. We had all anticipated that. So it didn't seem out of character," Johansson explained. "It kind of made sense to me, I guess, even though I was sad about it. But after I hung up the phone I remember I thought, 'Okay, I guess it's me.'"
"And it took me a minute to process it," she concluded. "It was bittersweet, but it was not a shock."
It was definitely a shock for fans, and of the original six Avengers, only three - Thor, Hulk, and Hawkeye - remain. However, with Clint Barton about to hand his bow to Kate Bishop, Jane Foster preparing to wield Mjolnir, and She-Hulk incoming, it feels like we're witnessing a changing of the guard.
What do you guys think?