'Black Widow' Screenwriter Reveals He Doesn't Know What That Post-Credit Scene Will Mean For MCU
Like most Marvel post-credit scenes, the one at the end of Black Widow tees up some drama and likely a whole lot of assassination attempts for one particular Avenger. When writing the scene, however, Eric Pearson admitted he has no idea what that moment will mean for the rest of the Marvel Cinematic Universe's Phase 4.
Warning: spoilers for Black Widow lie ahead.
As those who've seen the film know (this is the last warning about spoilers!), the post-credit scene had Yelena (Florence Pugh) visiting her sister Natasha's (Scarlett Johansson) grave. Contessa Valentina Allegra de Fontaine (Julia Louis-Dreyfus), however, interrupts her solitude.
Why was Valentina — a character we very recently met in Disney+'s The Falcon and the Winter Soldier — bothering Yelena? It seems that the former Red Room agent started working for Valentina sometime after Black Widow. Valentina now has a job for her: kill "the man responsible for your sister's death." She then hands Yelena a tablet with an image of Clint Barton (AKA Hawkeye, AKA Jeremy Renner).
Pearson wrote that scene, but he's still in the dark about what this moment means. What havoc will Yelena and Valentina cause for the rest of the MCU?
Every Writer’s Dream, and Every Writer’s Fear
I was like, 'Who am I screwing over? Something is going on! I don't have an answer for this,'" Pearson told The Hollywood Reporter with a laugh. "They were like, 'You don't need to. We are going to figure that out.' I remember writing it and feeling super guilty. 'I hope whatever writer is working on this next chapter is going to be OK with what I've done to them.'"
Pearson doesn't need to feel guilty — setting up exciting premises with unknowable outcomes is fun for writers, right? However the next Marvel writer feels about it, I'm sure they'll make it work, like they (pretty much) always do.
What Could That Post-Credit Scene Mean for the MCU?
Which begs the question: what could Yelena going after Hawkeye mean for the franchise? The obvious connection is Yelena will be causing Clint a whole of trouble in Disney+'s Hawkeye, since Marvel already announced that she'll be part of the show.
Maybe they'll try to kill each other over the show's eight episodes. Or maybe Yelena will see through Valentina's BS and join forces with Clint and his new protégé, Kate Bishop (Hailee Steinfeld).
I'm excited to see what Yelena gets up to. I really hope she cracks a lot of jokes at Clint's expense. With Hawkeye set to come out on Disney+ later this year, I hopefully won't have too long to see her back in action.
Black Widow is now in theaters and available on Disney+ Premier Access.