Letitia Wright as Shuri: Marvel superheroine movies post-Black Widow

For many superheroes these days, there exists a comic version and a cinematic version, and Scarlett Johansson’s rendering of the character Black Widow has featured in a number of Marvel Cinematic Universe movies to date including The Avengers, Captain America: The Winter Soldier, and the recent box office breakout Avengers: Infinity War.

Black Widow is a key member of the Avengers, so it was about time the Marvel bigwigs pulled a finger out and gave the heroine her own movie.

There’s a reason why fans have been rallying for a standalone Black Widow movie – and it isn’t just how awesome Scarlett Johansson (Lost in Translation) looks in her tights. Natasha Romanoff (better known as Black Widow) is an erudite assassin so seriously cool that she could probably slaughter an entire room of baddies with one hand while sending a text with the other.

At SDCC Comic-Con, we learned a little more about the long-desired standalone movie. Black Widow is set to drop on May 1st, 2020; it stars Scarlett Johansson, David Harbour, Florence Pugh, O-T Fagbenle, and Rachel Weisz; it’s being directed by badass Aussie female filmmaker Cate Shortland, whom we know from 2017’s Berlin Syndrome.

The action in Black Widow is in the aftermath of Captain America: Civil War – meaning it’s actually a prequel to the recent Avengers films. Per ScarJo: “I don’t think I could have played this iteration of Natasha 10 years ago. I get to play her as a fully realized woman in all of her many facets. I’m excited for fans to see the flawed side of her. I’m looking to wipe out that red in my ledger.”

After being treated to initial footage from Black Widow this past weekend – as well as getting to hear about the project from the horses’ mouths – we thought we’d take a look at all of the fierce female characters of the MCU who deserve their own movies. Badass boss bitches, assemble!

Gamora (Zoe Saldana): Guardians of the Galaxy (2014)

Yes, there might be a fair few plot holes surrounding Gamora, Thanos, and her home planet, but that’s by no means her fault and if anything, a standalone movie would serve as an opportunity for Marvel to explain itself. Plot holes aside, Zoe Saldana reprising her role as the green-skinned goddess to kick some butt in her own standalone movie is something we would pay good money to see.

Elektra (Elodie Yung): Daredevil (2015 – )

Last year, Daredevil and The Defenders actress Elodie Yung got our hearts pumping when she said she was open to reprising her role as Elektra in the MCU. Since then, we’ve heard nada about a potential movie with Yung at the center, but we’re still keeping those fingers crossed in the hope that Hand’s top assassin will return in some capacity, if only to see more of her wicked sword skills.

Jessica Jones (Krysten Ritter): Jessica Jones (2015 – 19)

A movie centered on Jessica Jones? Um, hello? Massive potential to make one of the darkest comedy features in the MCU. She’s had her own TV show, so why not give her a feature-length flick? Just imagine the sardonic titular character (reluctantly) carrying out her PI duties, only for Kilgrave to return and Jessica to kick his butt one last time, before and / or after chugging a 1L bottle of JD. It writes itself!

Colleen Wing (Jessica Henwick): Iron Fist (2017 – 18)

Colleen was an absolute highlight of Iron Fist and with her history as a master of Bushido, she quickly proved to be a steady companion for Danny (Finn Jones). As a capable fighter with powerful alliances and scene-stealing skills, we have no doubt she’d slay on the big screen as she does on the small one.

Misty Knight (Simone Missick): Luke Cage (2016 – 19)

As CBR put it, “The Marvel Cinematic Universe had more than its share of strong, powerful woman, but Misty Knight was like no other.” Portrayed by the glorious Simone Missick, this headstrong detective soon proved herself as a force to be reckoned with, taking no sh** from the likes of Cottonmouth and Mariah Dillard.

We’d love to see Misty in her own standalone movie, or better yet, team up with Colleen for a Daughters of the Dragon movie. Can you imagine?

Lady Sif (Jaimie Alexander): Thor: The Dark World (2013)

Jaimie Alexander’s Asgardian warrior quickly became a fan fave in Thor and Thor: The Dark World for good reason – she’s a feared fighter and, now the Marvel writers have started to embrace the character, has enjoyed stories that highlighted her skills, unquenchable spirit, and battle prowess. We’d love to see more from this engine of destruction.

Nakia (Lupita Nyong’o): Black Panther (2018)

Ryan Coogler’s Black Panther gave birth to some of the most badass female superheroes in the MCU, one of those being Nakia, played by the glorious Lupita Nyong’o. She’s a wonderful woman of Wakanda – intelligent, crafty, and lethal – making her an ideal candidate for a standalone movie.

Valkyrie (Tessa Thompson): Thor: Ragnarok (2017)

We’d love a Valkyrie movie just so we could spend 120 minutes crushing on Tessa Thompson. She’s a badass fighting machine too, obviously, and brings some much-needed humor to the MCU. In contrast to her male counterparts, Valkyrie is a force of nature who subverts all tropes often surrounding the female characters of the Marvel comic books.

As Little White Lies pointed out, her battle feels “as emotionally significant as Thor’s” and it’s for this reason we’d love to see her journey played out in her own feature-length film. It makes sense Marvel, and you know it!

Shuri (Letitia Wright): Black Panther (2018)

Letitia Wright (Black Mirror) is having a moment and we’re with her every step of the way. Portraying Shuri – the Princess of Wakanda, sister of T’Challa, daughter of T’Chaka & Ramonda, and the leader of the Wakandan Design Group – Wright was absolutely outstanding as the tech guru with a big brain and a sharp tongue and could easily hold her own in a Shuri-centered movie.

She-Hulk

Okay, so we haven’t seen She-Hulk enter the MCU yet. But we’ve said it once and we’ll say it again – MCU needs to make She-Hulk a reality. Just imagine the levels of badassery of the big green beast in female form on the big screen. Especially since she’s a total boss bitch who is fully in control of her own body with a strong intellect and sharp-as-knife wit. Please MCU . . . please!