Black Widow writer says major Marvel villain Easter egg may have been cut from early draft

Fans have been speculating about popular villain’s arrival in the MCU for years

The writer of Black Widow has revealed that the script almost contained a reference to one of Marvel’s best-loved villains.

Black Widow focused on Scarlett Johansson’s Avengers character Natasha Romanoff, and included several nods to past and future Marvel Cinematic Universe projects.

However, one reference that didn’t make the cut was to the Fantastic Four’s masked nemesis, Doctor Doom.

Fans have speculated when Doom would be introduced into the Marvel Cinematic Universe since 2019, when Marvel Studios acquired the cinematic rights to the Fantastic Four franchise after merging with Fox.

Speaking to IGN, Black Widow screenwriter Eric Pearson revealed: “I might’ve had a reference to [Doctor Doom’s fictional home country] Latveria in there. I might have, but I don’t think so. I don’t think that lasted very long.”

“I’m always trying to throw Latveria into stuff,” he continued. “It’s like one of those things where you want to be the first one to say it on an Instagram post or something!”

Marvel has announced that a Fantastic Four movie will feature on its slate of “Phase Four” films. It is not yet confirmed whether Doctor Doom will feature in the forthcoming film.

Black Widow is out now in cinemas and on Disney Plus’s Premiere Access service.