Although the Black Widow movie marks the first (and last, most likely) MCU standalone adventure for Natasha Romanoff, the hero's story actually came to an end in Avengers: Endgame, and star Scarlett Johansson has now looked back on the moment she first found out that her character was being killed off.
“Kevin Feige called me, our boss at Marvel; I think he was nervous to tell me and sad about it, saying something along the lines of, ‘We all expected that there would have to be some big sacrifices,'” the actress recalled during an interview with BBC Radio 1.
As final moments go, Natasha's ranks right up there with the more impactful and emotional scenes in the MCU, as she nobly sacrificed herself to allow Clint Barton (Jeremy Renner) to retrieve the Soul Stone and ultimately restore the lives of half the people in the universe.
“It didn’t surprise me that that was a choice that Nat would have made,” Johansson continued. “I knew that she had to feel at peace with that decision and that she was doing it out of love. It had to feel like she was resolved in that decision and that decision was hers. And that it wasn’t something that was happening to her because so much of her life has happened to her.”
While the Black Widow movie doesn't exactly serve as a eulogy for the character, the ramifications of her demise do look set to be felt in the MCU moving forward, as - spoiler alert - Yelena Belova (Florence Pugh) embarks on a mission to avenge her sister's death.
How did you guys think Nat's death was handled in Avengers: Endgame? Do you feel her solo movie worked as a fitting sendoff? Let us know in the comments.