New art brings Scarlett Johnᴀsson’s Black Widow and Jeremy Renner’s Hawkeye back to the MCU as powerful villains. Scarlett Johansson and Jeremy Renner both joined the MCU in Phase 1, Johansson as Natasha Romanoff’s Black Widow in Iron Man 2 and Renner as Clint Barton’s Hawkeye in Thor. After spending years as world-renowned Avengers, their partnership came to an end following Black Widow’s sacrifice in Avengers: Endgame, but there may now be a chance for the pair to reunite in the MCU’s Phase 6.

Robert Downey Jr. was revealed to be rejoining the MCU as iconic Marvel villain Doctor Doom ahead of his debut in Avengers: Doomsday, and this casting news was followed by Chris Evans being confirmed to also be returning. There has been speculation that the MCU’s original Avengers cast could return as twisted villains in Phase 6, which could lead to Scarlett Johansson and Jeremy Renner returning as evil versions of Black Widow and Hawkeye. This has been imagined in striking art shared by arifinity which depicts Johansson as the Red Widow and Renner as Ronin.

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What Scarlett Johansson & Jeremy Renner’s Villainous Returns Would Mean For Avengers: Doomsday

Other Avengers Are Already Returning In Avengers: Doomsday

Currently, neither Scarlett Johansson nor Jeremy Renner have been confirmed to be reprising their MCU roles in Marvel Studios’ upcoming Avengers: Doomsday. However, the fact that a number of other Marvel actors have been revealed to be returning suggests that these original heroes could be next. Another version of arifinity’s art imagines Natasha Romanoff and Clint Barton returning as HYDRA soldiers, which is reminiscent of recent speculation that Chris Evans could be returning as a HYDRA-indoctinated Captain America.

Seeing Natasha Romanoff and Clint Barton return to the MCU as villains would be a brilliant development for the MCU, especially if they are joined by twisted versions of the other founding Avengers. This would give Marvel Studios the opportunity to really show off the possibilities across the multiverse, and would mark the original Avengers cast’s first reunion on-screen since 2019’s Avengers: Endgame. This would create a benchmark moment for the MCU, perhaps helping to make Avengers: Doomsday the franchise’s biggest movie yet.

Our Take On Scarlett Johansson & Jeremy Renner Returning To The MCU As Villains

Black Widow & Hawkeye Would Make Excellent MCU Villains

Black Widow and Hawkeye have always been depicted as the most morally-ambiguous members of the Avengers, even though they put their formidable skills to work for good during their careers in the MCU. Their shared background as ᴀssᴀssins and trained killers means it would be very easy to imagine them making the move into villainy. Scarlett Johansson could depict a version of the Black Widow who never defected to the United States, while Jeremy Renner may resume his activities as the murderous Ronin, which would be great to see in Avengers: Doomsday.

The impact of Natasha Romanoff’s demise was felt throughout Black Widow and Hawkeye, contributing to some incredibly emotional moments. It would be hugely cathartic to see Johansson and Renner reunite on-screen in Doomsday, though the former may be reluctant to rejoin the MCU following her legal battle with Disney and the latter may still be in recovery from his recent snowplow incident. Neither Black Widow nor Hawkeye have yet been revealed to be returning to the MCU, but this would be very exciting for Phase 6 and beyond.

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