Scarlett Johansson’s Black Widow became an instant hit among fans after her introduction in 2010’s Iron Man 2. The superheroine was a prominent player in the MCU till 2021’s Black Widow, which was a prequel film and a tribute to her character after she died in Avengers: Endgame. However, the film’s reception proved that it was a bit too late for a movie on her.
For a very long time, Marvel fans wanted to see a project on Natasha Romanoff. She was the only female superhero in the team before we got others like Captain Marvel and Wasp after many years. But Lionsgate planned a Black Widow movie in 2004, even before the start of the MCU, if some underwhelming female-led films had not intervened.
What led Lionsgate to scrap their planned Black Widow project?
Black Widow is one of the primary reasons why a massive section of female audiences were also invested in the MCU. Out of all the female characters introduced in superhero projects, Scarlett Johansson‘s secret agent acquires a very high position if not the topmost. Sadly, the perception regarding female-led films was not always the same and led to the cancellation of a 2004 film.
Compared to the other Marvel names, Black Widow has been an easy character to work with. Besides, the pre-existing popularity of spy films like the Jason Bourne and James Bond movies convinced Lionsgate to take the rights and make a movie on Natasha Romanoff.
Lionsgate made considerable progress and also roped in the screenwriter of X-Men and X2, David Hayter as the writer and director. Sadly, as Hayter was working on the film, several successful and non-successful female-led projects were released.
While films like Tomb Raider and Kill Bill were successful, other films like BloodRayne and Ultraviolet failed to match the standards and crashed at the box office. According to David Hayter (via CBR), Charlize Theron’s Æon Flux was the final nail in the coffin. Lionsgate understood that if they could not live up to the standards of the praiseworthy female movies, they would also fail.
Unfortunately, as I was coming up on the final draft, a number of female vigilante movies came out. We had Tomb Raider and Kill Bill, which were the ones that worked, but then we had BloodRayne and Ultraviolet and Æon Flux. Æon Flux didn’t open well, and three days after it opened, the studio said, ‘We don’t think it’s time to do this movie.’
The Box Office Mojo reported the Charlize Theron-led sci-fi movie a failure, as it grossed around $53 million against a budget of $62 million. Hayter added that he understood the studio’s point regarding the saturation of the genre, yet it was painful for him to let go of the film. He was so dedicated to the film that he even named his new-born daughter, Natasha.
What led Marvel to sideline Black Widow for so long?
After Iron Man’s iconic sacrifice in Avengers: Endgame, another memorable moment that still breaks our hearts is the one with Natasha and Clint in Vormir. Black Widow‘s sacrifice concluded the run of one of the best MCU castings. The Kevin Feige company tried to capitalize on the sympathy and give us a mediocre tribute-esque prequel project on the character.
2021’s Black Widow did not do justice to the character and was disappointing in several aspects. The fans also questioned the MCU about such a delay in bringing the character on-screen. However, later it was revealed that the former MCU head, Ike Perlmutter did not want to work on female-led projects as it could affect the merchandise sales.
In 2015, a shocking mail sent by Perlmutter to a Sony executive also confirmed that the former head was never in favor of a female-led Marvel movie (via Vulture). Many fans still complain how Wasp was not even shown in 2012’s Avengers even after being a founder member in the comics.
But ultimately after Ike Perlmutter’s firing, the MCU did focus on more inclusion which gave us high-grossing products like Black Panther and Captain Marvel.
All the MCU projects can be streamed on Disney+, while Æon Flux can be streamed on Paramount+.
