2021’s Black Widow has always been a puzzling movie for me. The only female member of the Avengers is finally getting her own movie. rear Did they kill her in Avengers: Endgame? So this is a prequel, something that takes place during the third act of Captain America: Civil War. And the film’s story is built around vague allusions to Widow’s history in The Avengers, from “Draykov’s Daughter” to her past mission in Budapest. Wikibrain nerds have proven once again that they can’t tell when there’s a line that suggests a character has an off-screen history rather than a spin-off setting.
However, having seen Black Widow, I can understand why it was postponed to Phase 4. The film is, above all, a beacon passed from one widow to the next, from Natasha Romanoff (Scarlett Johansson) to her sister Yelena Belova (Florence Pugh). ). Pugh has since appeared as Yelena in the Disney+ series Hawkeye and will headline next year’s Thunderbolts alongside other Marvel anti-heroes.
Pugh may be primarily a dramatic actor, but he has enough charisma and comedic skills (along with an improvisational side) to star in a Marvel blockbuster. However, Marvel’s first choice for Yelana was not Pugh, but Irish actress Saoirse Ronan.shared by reporter Justin Kroll during an appearance. “The City with Matthew Belloni” Podcast. Kroll said that Marvel was not Ronan’s “cup of tea,” something Ronan himself admitted (In a recent Deadline interview), “I can’t see myself doing Marvel.” (James Bond, on the other hand…)
But it’s easy to see why Marvel wanted Ronan to appear in Black Widow, Joe Wright’s Hanna. Ronan is one of her first breakout roles, starring as a child super soldier on the run from the CIA. “Hannah” is very similar to “Black Widow” (both movies and characters). pew and ronan Also In 2019, she starred as one of the March sisters in Greta Gerwig’s Little Women. She seems to have been a backup option for Laurie’s lover Ronan in Little Women and “Black Widow”.
Saoirse Ronan almost got the role of Marvel’s Scarlet Witch
Black Widow isn’t the only Marvel movie to try to cast Saoirse Ronan. During the development of Avengers: Age of Ultron, Ronan was writer/director Joss Whedon’s “prototype” for Wanda Maximoff/Scarlet Witch (i.e., the character he had in mind while writing). Apparently, the role was instead given to Elizabeth Olsen, who starred in Marvel movies/TV from 2014 to 2022 (and potentially beyond).
talk to Mary Sue in 2013 Regarding the casting rumors that were going on at the time, Ronan expressed his interest as follows:
“I love Joss, I love those movies, I love the way he approaches his work and portrays these kinds of superheroes. I think this is quite different from what other people have done. That’s why I would like to appear.”
Obviously, a lot can change after 10 years. Looking at Ronan’s early roles (‘Hannah’, the sci-fi alien invasion romance ‘The Host’), perhaps she originally thought her career would go in an action star direction, or simply that the Marvel movies were a big hit for her. Maybe they thought it could be a breakout. She is now an established dramatic star, while Marvel Studios has become synonymous with corporate, homogenized filmmaking.
Ronan hasn’t appeared in a single blockbuster or action movie in the past 10 years. No, she does small dramas and comedies I also want to be a director. At this point, her contract with Marvel and its demanding schedule may seem like more trouble than it’s worth to her. What about Florence Pugh? “Thunderbolts” and its success will tell us whether or not she’ll have a long run as Black Widow.
“Thunderbolts*” is scheduled to be released in theaters on May 2, 2025.
