Over the past year or so we’ve had plenty of speculation as to Marvel Studios’ plans for Phase Three of the Cinematic Universe, with a Black Widow solo movie mentioned as a possibility on several occasions, as well as ongoing support for another solo outing for The Incredible Hulk. Now Tony Stark himself has weighed in on the debate, with Robert Downey Jr. sharing his thoughts during an interview with USA Today…
“Doesn’t Scarlett (Johansson) deserve a break? Look, I think that the interesting thing particularly after Guardians with Zoe (Saldana), (or) even from the first Iron Man where Pepper was kind of this really – to me the Iron Man franchise would never have taken off without (Gwyneth) Paltrow. There’s something about her that grounded the story. She’s not your typical lady in a superhero movie, and then by Iron Man 3 she’s swallowing serums and putting on suits and kicking (butt) and all that stuff. It would be kind of more appropriate for a character that already was like a Black Widow (to lead a movie). It just seems like whatever Scarlett does people want to go see it.”
Downey continued by spreading his support around his fellow Avengers, stating that: “The funny thing is honestly at this point everyone deserves a franchise. I think Jeremy Renner is — when folks see the Avengers: Age of Ultron he’s just a rockstar, a badass. And (Mark) Ruffalo is pumped. He does great (work). I’d like to hear them talk even more seriously about a Hulk franchise, because that’s been one of the toughest ones to get right. But I’m sure that my parent company is feeling expansive and and bold after the summer they’ve had.”
Would you like to see Black Widow, Hulk and Hawkeye in solo movies, or should Marvel look to introduce more new characters into the MCU?
Originally published September 4, 2014. Updated April 12, 2018.
