By the time Natasha Romanoff made her Marvel Cinematic Universe debut she was already a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent, but the character wouldn’t be the focus of a Black Widow solo film for years later – but how old will she be in the film? Scarlett Johansson has been portraying the comic book character with a complicated past since 2010’s Iron Man 2. In total, the actress portrayed Black Widow in eight movies, including her uncredited cameo in Captain Marvel. After years of talks, Johansson will finally headline her own MCU movie.

Nat sacrificed herself in Avengers: Endgame so her team could acquire the Soul Stone. The movie was set in 2023 but the surviving Avengers made it a mission to travel in time to acquire all of the Infinity Stones to undo Thanos’ decimation of humanity. Nat accompanied Clint Barton and entered the Quantum Realm, traveling back to Vormir in 2014. Considering Black Widow’s death was never erased, Natasha isn’t alive in the present-day. The MCU, however, will look to fill in some of the mysterious gaps left by Nat’s past as Black Widow will dive deeper into her life as a Russian spy before becoming an Avenger.

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Based on details gathered in previous installments, it was revealed that Nat was born in 1984. At a young age, she was recruited by the KGB to take part in the Red Room, a special academy that transformed young girls into spies and assassins. As part of her graduation ceremony, Natasha was sterilized so that having a family wouldn’t distract her from her identity as a Black Widow. Years later, the skilled spy came onto S.H.I.E.L.D.’s radar. Rather than kill her, Clint recruited her, paving her way into becoming an original member of the Avengers. There’s still a lot of Nat’s past that hasn’t been unearthed, and many of those details will be the focus of Black Widow. Based on the movie’s place in the timeline, it’s easy to calculate that Nat will be in her early 30s for the bulk of the forthcoming MCU film.

Black Widow Is Set After Captain America: Civil War & Before Avengers: Infinity War

When Black Widow was announced, director Cate Shortland and Marvel Studios confirmed that it will be set between the events of Captain American: Civil War and Avengers: Infinity War. Civil War was set in 2016 and based on Nat’s birth year, she would have been 31 or 32 when she allied with Team Stark. Infinity War took place throughout 2018, making Nat 33 or 34-years-old at the time. Based on that information, Nat will be close to the age of 32 during her solo movie. This range in the character’s most recent MCU appearances isn’t too far off from the Johansson real age of 35.

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Considering Black Widow will focus on Nat’s past connections as a spy, there will ample flashbacks into her upbringing, particularly when she trained in the Red Room. It’s unclear what exact age Nat became Black Widow but her graduation took place in the ’90s. It most likely happened in the late ’90s, making her between the ages of 13 and 15. Either way, Nat went through a lot when she made her MCU debut in her mid-20s. Since she doesn’t have a clear future, it’s time for Black Widow to fill in the blanks of her past.

Key Release Dates
  • Black Widow (2021)Release date: Jul 09, 2021
  • Eternals (2021)Release date: Nov 05, 2021
  • Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings (2021)Release date: Sep 03, 2021
  • Thor: Love and Thunder (2022)Release date: Jul 08, 2022
  • Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (2022)Release date: May 06, 2022
  • Black Panther: Wakanda Forever/Black Panther 2 (2022)Release date: Nov 11, 2022
  • The Marvels/Captain Marvel 2 (2023)Release date: Feb 17, 2023
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About The Author


Kara Hedash
(1745 Articles Published)

Kara Hedash is a features editor and writer for Screen Rant. From time to time, she dives into the world’s most popular franchises but Kara primarily focuses on evergreen topics. The fact that she gets to write about The Office regularly is like a dream come true. Before joining Screen Rant, Kara served as a contributor for Movie Pilot and had work published on The Mary Sue and Reel Honey. After graduating college, writing began as a part-time hobby for Kara but it quickly turned into a career. She loves binging a new series and watching movies ranging from Hollywood blockbusters to hidden indie gems. She also has a soft spot for horror ever since she started watching it at too young of an age. Her favorite Avenger is Thor and her favorite Disney princess is Leia Organa. When Kara’s not busy writing, you can find her doing yoga or hanging out with Gritty.

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