Still Not Over Black Widow's Death? Endgame Director Isn't Having It
It's been three years since Black Widow sacrificed her life in 2014 to save the universe in 2023 (time travel can be confusing), and fans still haven't gotten over it. The director who killed her off doesn't care.
Co-director of Avengers: Endgame Joe Russo posted a TikTok video playing the world's tiniest violin and pouting with the words "I'll never forgive you for killing Natasha!" hanging over his head.
He doesn't seem to mind being hated for killing one of the most popular Avengers, the first female hero of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Of course, fans know her death played a part in saving half the universe. The Soul Stone needed to be retrieved to undo Thanos' devastating snap, and a soul had to be traded in its place. She and her closest teammate and trusted friend, Clint Barton, literally fought for the right to sacrifice themselves. She won, tragically leaping to her death.
Barton returned, eventually lamenting that "it should have been me." Some fans agreed.
Endgame promised to be the most emotionally taxing MCU film, even more than Infinity War a year prior – a film in which we saw a half of our heroes dusted out of existence. But fans knew that would only be temporary; Natasha's death seemed permanent.
In 2021, the first MCU film released after the year-long hiatus during COVID was Black Widow, a prequel set during the time Natasha was on the run for breaking the Sokovia Accords. She finally got her own solo movie a decade after she was introduced in Iron Man II, having played the character in nine MCU films in total. Its final scene allowed fans to mourn her death along with her newly-introduced sister, Yelena.
Russo directed Endgame with his brother Anthony following their successes with Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Civil War, and Infinity War. They seem to be done with the MCU for the foreseeable future. Their time with the MCU will not quickly be forgotten – they created two of the four $2 billion movies in history, ranking only behind Steven Spielberg among the highest-grossing directors. Spielberg's $10.6 billion combined gross happened in 37 movies; the Russos' $6.8 billion happened in 8 – half of which were in the MCU.
Comic book deaths are rarely permanent. A common expression once was, "No one stays dead except Bucky, Jason Todd, and Uncle Ben," before Todd and Bucky were both revived in 2005. If your favorite comic character dies, just wait a few issues.
Movies are different, and fake-out deaths are seen as cheap money grabs. Black Widow will stay dead, with the surviving universe being her legacy.
While some fans may not like that, Joe Russo for one doesn't care.