WARNING: Major spoilers for Avengers: Endgame.

Avengers: Endgame co-director Joe Russo explains why Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson) didn’t get a funeral in the movie. One of the original six members of the Avengers, Natasha Romanoff receives one of the more prominent roles in the 22nd Marvel Cinematic Universe movie. After the film’s five-year time jump, the former spy is now leading the Avengers from behind a desk, but then jumps back into action when the possibility of time travel opens up a way for the team to bring back everyone who was snapped by Thanos in Avengers: Infinity War.

The time-traveling plot leads the Avengers to split up across time and space, leading Black Widow and Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner) to Vormir in 2014. Their mission is to acquire the Soul Stone, but they don’t know that it’ll require them to sacrifice one of their lives to do so. Black Widow is ultimately the one who dies so the rest of the team can obtain the Soul Stone, and her death has become a controversial topic about Avengers: Endgame.

One of the biggest criticisms to follow Black Widow’s death was her lack of a funeral. During a Q&A with Avengers: Endgame co-director Joe Russo posted on Chinese website Tencent QQ (and translated by Reddit), the lack of this scene was finally addressed. In typical Russo fashion though, he suggested many possible explanations for why it’s not in the movie.

Additionally, co-writer Christopher Markus gave his own explanation for why a funeral for Black Widow isn’t in the film. As Markus told The New York Times, “Tony gets a funeral. Natasha doesn’t. That’s partly because Tony’s this massive public figure and she’s been a cipher the whole time. It wasn’t necessarily honest to the character to give her a funeral.” These two combined explanations aren’t likely to resolve any complaints about the lack of the scene though. The Avengers mourned Tony’s death right when it happened and he still received a funeral, while her spy status is hardly an explanation as she was also very publicly a hero.

Did you forget when the heroes where mourning for her after when they returned from past? Maybe her funeral happened off screen. Maybe it will be shown in future installment, because there are still tons of stories in MCU that are waiting to be tell.

The entire send off for Black Widow is further muddied by the fact that a solo Black Widow film is currently gearing up for production to begin, so many know that we’ll be seeing her again. It would be extremely odd if her funeral was shown here or in a different MCU film too, so this situation is likely just going to be like the lack of Han Solo’s funeral in the new Star Wars films, where such a scene never finds it place in the larger story. Then again, maybe Black Widow’s funeral will tie back into the MCU somehow, giving many the scene from Avengers: Endgame they were looking for.

MORE: Avengers: Endgame’s Ending & Marvel Movie Future Explained

Sources: Tencent QQ [via Reddit], The New York Times

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