Is Black Widow dead?
 but two years on, Johansson has returned for the characters first solo movie, muddying the waters of Black Widows status. Yes. That was simple. But the explanation is slightly less so. Yes she is. Spy-turned-Avenger Natasha died in Avengers: Endgame in an act of self-sacrifice, and by the end of the 2019 film her death had been confirmed as genuine. It doesnt appear Marvel has any plans to rewrite or undo this storyline, so as it stands in the present day of the Marvel Cinematic Universe Black Widow is officially dead. Get sci-fi news direct to your inbox The best sci-fi news and features this side of the Outer Rim. Thanks, you are now signed up to our sci-fi and fantasy newsletter! We look forward to sending you our email updates. Sign in to/ register for a RadioTimes.com account to manage your email preferences Sign in Register To manage your email preferences, click here. Sign me up! For details on how we use your data, please see our privacy policy. Its complicated, but well try to keep this brief  in Avengers: Endgame the whole team travel back in time to borrow earlier versions of the Infinity Stones (the originals having been destroyed), hoping to undo Thanos snap that removed half of the population of the universe. Black Widow and Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner) are tasked to travel to Vormir, the planet where the mysterious Soul Stone is located  but to get their hands on it, one of them has to be sacrificed. In the end, Natasha manages to be the martyr, leaving Clint bereft but in possession of the all-important stone. Well, its simple  so simple that to be honest, most people already know this, and this section of the article is redundant  Black Widow is a prequel. And not an origin story like Captain Marvel, set years before the main action of the MCU. Instead, this film is set shortly after 2016s Captain America: Civil War but before Avengers: Infinity War and Endgame (where Natasha died in 2023though technically, she must have died earlier given that they went back in time to 2014 to grab the Infinity Stones. In other words, at the time of this movie Natasha had also been dead for two years already on a distant planet. Weird). Basically, this means that during the events of this film Black Widows death was yet to come, but its still just as final. Fans hoping to see more of the character would be best to hope for Marvel to fill in more early gaps in her timeline. Advertisement  Black Widow is in UK cinemas from Wednesday 7th July, and on Disney Plus Premier Access from Friday 9th July. Check out our dedicated Sci-Fi page or our TV Guide for more recommendations.