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(Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures)

Of Course Black Widow Is a “Family Drama”! So Is the Whole Marvel Cinematic Universe.

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One of the interesting things about the world right now is that we’re seeing interviews getting released for movies that are now delayed. Since Black Widow’s release date has been pushed back, it’s a weird time when Scarlett Johansson magazine covers are still being released, and yet, we have no idea when we’re actually going to get the movie they’re promoting.

In an upcoming issue of Total Film magazine, Johansson talked about the film and said that it being “a family drama is the least expected thing.” Um … ScarJo … have you see the Marvel Cinematic Universe? All it is is everyone fighting with each other like their siblings or Peter Parker thinking Tony Stark is his dad. It’s all about family issues.

Before I really get into how the MCU is just one big family drama rolled into 20+ movies, please see the internet’s most accurate summary of the Marvel Cinematic Universe:

Starting with Iron Man, we’re thrown into the family mess—literally. Tony Stark struggles with the legacy left by Howard Stark and how he’s supposed to live up to that, and he’s thrown against Obadiah Stane and what he thinks he deserves over Tony. And that’s just the beginning, long before the Avengers show up and that family drama goes underway.

The perfect example of the entire MCU being family drama is Captain America: Civil War. Like … how else would you even begin to explain that movie other than a family drama? Tony Stark and Steve Rogers are the parents who are fighting so much that the kids think they’re getting a divorce, and then we have to choose who we want to live with.

Point being: When hasn’t a movie in the Marvel Cinematic Universe been a family drama? Maybe that’s an easier way of going about this. Even when you think of the more comedic Marvel movies, they still have some dramatic moments. Think about Ant-Man. While there are hilarious characters like Luis (Michael Peña), there’s still the underlying tension of Hope dealing with her mother’s disappearance and Scott wanting to be there for his daughter despite having been in jail.

Everything that we end up loving in this entire franchise comes down to the relationships. Whether it be actual family members (like the fights between Loki and Thor) or the makeshift family of the Avengers team, the Marvel Cinematic Universe, at its core, is a family drama.

So yeah, sure, Black Widow is also a family drama because it’s about Natasha going back to see Yelena and the family she had before the Avengers, but … if it weren’t a family drama, I think that’s when we’d have a problem. Natasha fighting with her sister just fits in perfectly with the themes of the MCU, and now I can’t wait to see Black Widow.

(image: Marvel Entertainment)

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Rachel Leishman
Assistant Editor
Rachel Leishman (She/Her) is an Assistant Editor at the Mary Sue. She's been a writer professionally since 2016 but was always obsessed with movies and television and writing about them growing up. A lover of Spider-Man and Wanda Maximoff's biggest defender, she has interests in all things nerdy and a cat named Benjamin Wyatt the cat. If you want to talk classic rock music or all things Harrison Ford, she's your girl but her interests span far and wide. Yes, she knows she looks like Florence Pugh. She has multiple podcasts, normally has opinions on any bit of pop culture, and can tell you can actors entire filmography off the top of her head. Her current obsession is Glen Powell's dog, Brisket. Her work at the Mary Sue often includes Star Wars, Marvel, DC, movie reviews, and interviews.