We like to think that Marvel Studios maps out everything years in advance. But, some scenes start filming before anyone really knows what’s happening next. Black WidowOpens in a new tab is a perfect example of that. Writer Eric Pearson wrote Black Widow and several other Marvel projects including Thor: Ragnarok, Ant-Man, Avengers: Infinity WarOpens in a new tab, and more. And even he was in the dark when it came to a Black Widow plot point.
In a story from The Hollywood ReporterOpens in a new tab, Pearson revealed that he didn’t even know which character would become Yelena’s next target in the post-credits sceneOpens in a new tab. Pearson wrote the scene featuring Julia Louis-Dreyfus’ Valentina Allegra de FontaineOpens in a new tab. When she hands Yelena (Florence Pugh) the photo for her next assignment, no one, not even Pearson, knew who the heck it was even going to be.
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Pearson wasn’t told where the story would go after Yelena received the photo with her next target. The target, as we have now seen, ends up being Jeremy Renner’s Hawkeye. Except originally, the photo wasn’t of anyone in particular. When Pearson asked who they were sending Yelena to killOpens in a new tab, all he got was a shrug. Of course, as the writer of the thing, Pearson really wanted to know. And who can blame him?
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Pearson recalls saying to his Marvel Studios bosses “Who am I screwing over? Something is going on! I don’t have an answer for this.” The truth of it all is, Marvel didn’t have an answer for it either at the time. They simply told him “we are going to figure that out.” And figure it out they ultimately did. Hopefully, we’ll see the results in the Hawkeye seriesOpens in a new tab coming soon to Disney+Opens in a new tab.
In the Multiverse, which was just unleashed on Loki, there’s a universe in which Yelena is going after someone other than Hawkeye. Is it Don Cheadle’s War MachineOpens in a new tab? Maybe William Hurt’s Thunderbolt Ross? Maybe we’ll find out what one of these alternate targets was in a future season of What If…Opens in a new tab? It seems the perfect avenue to tackle that particular scenario. If anything, let this story be a lesson to anyone who thinks that all these cinematic universes and TV series “have a grand plan” going back years. Or need one to succeed. Almost none of them do.
