Will The Freed Black Widows Appear In Captain America 4?

Contains spoilers for "Black Widow" and "The Falcon and the Winter Soldier"

Now that Anthony Mackie has officially signed on for "Captain America 4," it's time to start thinking about where the story of one of the MCU's first solo franchises will go. "Captain America 4" was announced following the season finale of "The Falcon and the Winter Soldier." At the end of the second Marvel Disney+ show, we saw Sam Wilson (Mackie) hang up his Falcon wings for good and finally take up the mantle of Captain America after his buddy Steve Rogers gave him the shield at the end of "Avengers: Endgame." Although Mackie has been a part of the MCU since "Captain America: The Winter Soldier," "Captain America 4" will be his first outing as the new Captain America.

Although we still don't know details about the plot or cast, it's never too early to start imagining who will join Sam on his first Captain America mission. One key aspect of Captain America's personality is that he knows there is strength in numbers. Yes, Cap can always take on a group of bad guys if needed, but he always has a few close friends and allies to help him save the day. When it comes to allies for Captain America 2.0, Sam Wilson will need to strengthen his network ASAP. It's unclear if Bucky Barnes (Sebastian Stan) has it in him to return for more action following the events of "The Falcon and the Winter Soldier," the newest Avengers team has yet to assemble, and many of the superheroes we last saw in "Avengers: Endgame" have returned to their respective corners of the vast MCU universe. 

Basically, Sam is starting at square one when it comes to building a reliable team.

One potential group of allies could be the freed Black Widow assassins last seen in "Black Widow." At the end of "Black Widow," the late Natasha Romanoff (Scarlett Johansson) and Yelena Belova (Florence Pugh) were able to use the Red Dust to reverse the chemical mind control used on the other Black Widows working for the Red Room. As Natasha parted ways with them, audiences saw the group fly off to an unknown location with Melina (Rachel Weisz), Red Guardian (David Harbour), and Yelena. We later find out where Yelena ended up post-"Endgame," but still don't know what happened to her fellow Black Widows.

Since it's unclear what happened to the Black Widows, there is an opportunity to bring them in to the "Captain America 4" story. Even just one or two Black Widows could provide the additional manpower Sam would need in any mission he's taking on. There is also the sentimental bonus of Sam and the freed Black Widows having mutual ties through Steve Rogers and Natasha's friendship. 

However, there are a few issues that might prevent the Black Widows from showing up. Firstly, "Black Widow" takes place at least a decade before the events of "Captain America 4" will (most likely) occur. With that much time elapsed between those two movies, it's possible the freed Black Widows have disappeared into anonymity or are involved in new missions. Additionally, Sam has no pre-existing ties to the Black Widows outside of Natasha, making it unlikely that he would consider reaching out to them. It's similarly unclear if Sam would know just how close Natasha was with her old team, because she kept that part of her past private.

It's still very early days for production on "Captain America 4," which means there is plenty of time for the plot of the movie to develop and the movie's cast to assemble. We might not know for at least a year what "Captain America 4" has in store for us, including whether or not the freed Black Widows will return.