Black Widow surprisingly turned out to be an ensemble movie. It brought in some new characters and set them up for the future. We thought that a few old and familiar characters could appear in the film. Clint Barton was definitely someone who could have made a cameo. Nick Fury could have done that as well. But a couple of years ago, there were legitimate reports that Tony Stark’s footage would be recycled from Captain America: Civil War. But instead, Natasha Romanoff was chased by Secretary Ross in Black Widow. Now we want to know why Black Widow replaced the cameo of Tony Stark with Secretary Ross.
An early draft of Black Widow‘s screenplay had Tony Stark reprising his role. The film of Natasha Romanoff is set after the events of Captain America: Civil War. Back in Iron Man 2, Tony Stark helped in establishing Black Widow’s place within the MCU. And now, he was supposed to give Widow a start in Civil War. But the final cut of the film shows Secretary Ross, while Tony Stark was nowhere to be found. Here’s why he didn’t appear.
Natasha was on the side of Iron Man in Captain America: Civil War. It was not revealed if she fully supports the Sokovia Accords or not. The Sokovia Accords along with Baron Zemo managed to make the Avengers fight among each other. Natasha also mentioned to Steve Rogers that staying together is more important than how we stay together. But after fighting with Cap and his team at the airport, Natasha realized the folly of the heroes fighting each other and helped Steve Rogers and Bucky Barnes escape. T’Challa informs Ross about the incident and Natasha is forced to evade the authorities.
In an interview with ComicBook.com, Black Widow’s co-writer Eric Pearson says that the earlier draft of the screenplay had written the “end moment of Civil War with Tony and Natasha”. Pearson said that Tony’s cameo could have repurposed footage from Civil War’s last conversation between Stark and Natasha and it could have reminded the audience that the film continues after the events of Civil War. Robert Downey Jr. even mentioned in 2019 that he is not a part of Black Widow. Even if Stark had a cameo in Black Widow, there was no need for him to shoot new scenes.
The appearance of Secretary Ross made more sense considering the events of the MCU. The character was introduced in The Incredible Hulk and then appeared in Captain America: Civil War as Secretary of the State. This was the best chance for him to make the Avengers realize the wrong things they have done. He was the best fit as the enforcer of Sokovia Accords hunting Natasha Romanoff.
If Tony Stark appeared in a cameo, he was emotionally spent after what happened between him and Steve Rogers and he wouldn’t have hunted another Avenger. Tony and Natasha did not share a good bonding with each other since Stark was not so fond of her as she spied on him on the orders of Nick Fury in Iron Man 2. Tony Stark stepped back from the Avengers after the events of Avengers: Age of Ultron. Steve Rogers and Natasha Romanoff took over and trained Colonel James Rhodes, Wanda Maximoff, Vision, and Sam Wilson to be recruited in the Avengers team. Stark later took over when Captain America and Black Widow were termed as the enemies of the state.
It looks like Tony Stark’s cameo was almost confirmed in Black Widow but it was later considered unnecessary. Even Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige voted for no Avengers cameos since Natasha does not need the boys. It was also necessary that only Natasha’s character is properly explored in her standalone film. The film has introduced characters like Yelena Belova who might take on the mantle of Black Widow since Natasha is now dead in the MCU. The cameo of Secretary Ross proved that Black Widow takes place after Captain America: Civil War. Tony Stark was still there but he had nothing to do in Natasha’s story.
Do you like the fact that Black Widow replaced the cameo of Tony Stark with Ross? Let us know in the comments.
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