AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR Directors Reveal The Status Of Bruce Banner And Black Widow's Romance

AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR Directors Reveal The Status Of Bruce Banner And Black Widow's Romance

Joe and Anthony Russo weigh in on where things stand between Bruce Banner and Black Widow and neither of the filmmakers appear to be a fan as they dismiss it as a "Joss Whedon decision." Spoilers follow!

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By JoshWilding - May 07, 2018 02:05 AM EST
Filed Under: Avengers: Infinity War
It was in Avengers: Age of Ultron that romance between Bruce Banner and Natasha Romanoff first blossomed but that's a plot point which wasn't touched on in Avengers: Infinity War aside from a glance the two heroes shared. Scenes in the trailer pointed to them having a conversation about things at some point but that wasn't included in the final cut so their relationship status is now up in the air.
 
During a recent Q&A, Joe and Anthony Russo were asked about why this romance has become part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe when it was never in the comic books to which he explained, "That was a Joss Whedon decision so it's not something I can speak to." He did, however, elaborate on the thought process the filmmaker might have had when he attempted to pair them up back in 2015.
 
"We don't directly translate the comics to the films -- why go see the films when you know how it's going to end?" Russo (diplomatically) said. "And it isn't a translation. It's our interpretation for the MCU. I think Joss was trying to find interesting ways of pairing up the characters and create dynamics between them. I know it seems a generally unpopular choice. You know, you can't win them all."
 
Finally, Russo addressed where things now stand between The Hulk and Black Widow and it sounds like things between them are definitely over. "Look, he disappeared for two years," he added. "She's pretty self-sufficient, she didn't wait around for him. There's sort of unspoken truth that there's need to be a spoken resolution." Are you guys disappointed that things between the heroes are over?
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LaserKing
LaserKing - 5/7/2018, 2:53 AM
Hide the zucchini is an over rated game.
L0RDbuckethead
L0RDbuckethead - 5/7/2018, 9:15 AM
@LaserKing - Insert *Hulk grin gif*
defenderofthefaith
defenderofthefaith - 5/7/2018, 2:56 AM
I'm glad Natasha moved on. The Marvel universe is better off this way.
AC1
AC1 - 5/7/2018, 3:01 AM
I'm fine with how this played out overall. It was a fairly interesting pairing in AOU, and Ruffalo and Johansson have great chemistry together, but it's also cool seeing them reunited but with no chance of actually progressing romantically, it's rare in these types of films you get to see a failed relationship like that, especially where both characters are leads. And it's also interesting how it seems like it'll play out - they're not bitter about it, they don't hate each other like a lot of exes do, there's just this unspoken, bittersweet thing between them, where they kinda know each other better than most and almost found something they never thought they'd have but have had to make peace with the fact it won't happen.
Doomsday8888
Doomsday8888 - 5/7/2018, 3:09 AM

Who's Natasha's next target? :P
xHollywoodx
xHollywoodx - 5/7/2018, 5:34 AM
@Doomsday8888 - Thats so funny. Jeremy is so straight faced when he says it.
Moreheat
Moreheat - 5/7/2018, 3:10 AM
It was awkward and forced by Joss and an insult to Betty Ross and Hulk lore. I am glad to be rid of it.
Super12
Super12 - 5/7/2018, 6:40 AM
@Moreheat - Right? I'm still waiting for them to bring Betty back. Liv Tyler showing up to calm the Hulk down when Black Widow can't would be awesome to see.
L0RDbuckethead
L0RDbuckethead - 5/7/2018, 9:16 AM
@Super12 - I believe there was a rumor from a European publication a few months back stating that Liv Tyler was on set for some A4 filming.
Himura
Himura - 5/7/2018, 3:15 AM
"We don't directly translate the comics to the films -- why go see the films when you know how it's going to end?"

Thank god they said this. I hate the fanboys that cry whenever they deviate from the comics.
Unavailable
Unavailable - 5/7/2018, 5:59 AM
@Himura - I have felt this way a long time too. Hate is a bit of strong ward for me. But yeah one of the things that grind my gears.
Even by AOU the fans should have realised that the universe is not the same as the prime 616 Universe or any of the comic universes.
MCU is its own parallel universe. Heck I just imagine 616 exists in one of the many dimensions that exist in the universe as a whole and vice versa.
I got majority of the major runs of the marvel comics. Read them. Enjoy some more than film version and some vice versa. But at same time I am glad they are not the same. I enjoy the different and modern takes of the characters.
If I want comic book version. Well it's within reach anytime I want.
Funny thing is though. Ppl want comic accurate. (Even though sometimes it's not in their ability to do so. Like Universal got rights to all Hulk side characters.Prob can't even have the classic Wendigos.)Yet, one of the things ppl dissing on the film right now is that the dead can come back. Lol. That is one of the prime rules of Comics. Everyone has the potential to come back. One way or another for a time. Unless your name is Uncle Ben or Martha Wayne. Exception to the rule. Sometimes I don't think even the "fandom" knows what it wants.
I just am enjoying it all and not been sooooo critical to sound cool and hip so that it destroys the experience for me.
Here's to MCU for the next 10 Years. Cheers.
DoubleD
DoubleD - 5/7/2018, 3:42 AM
19 Marvel movies and still haven't seen the real Hulk appear.

Marvel still owes us Hulk One
MarvelDCAllDay
MarvelDCAllDay - 5/7/2018, 4:29 AM
Can Banner be shown having at least a phone call with Betty Ross?
TheUnworthyThor
TheUnworthyThor - 5/7/2018, 4:33 AM
Hopefully someone, preferably Banner and the Russos, remembered that Betty Ross exists. I love Age of Ultron but that relationship is and always was a terrible decision.
Chewtoy
Chewtoy - 5/7/2018, 4:44 AM
The angry Bruce/Betty shippers will never let this go.

It’s exactly the kind of subplot the Avengers characters have always had in the comics... there have always been romances between members going on. (It’s also a component of nearly every Marvel movie.) It’s a staple of storytelling, and it’s something that’s usually played between characters that don’t have their own books so that the writer of Avengers isn’t stepping on the toes of the writers of the individual characters titles... that’s Natasha, Banner and Barton in the films at that time.

Betty has no role in The Avengers, and the Hulk has no solo films to make space for her. That’s just how it is.
Chewtoy
Chewtoy - 5/7/2018, 4:57 AM
One other note... a lot of the traditional love interests from the comics suck for the kinds of stories they need to tell in these movies. They’re great in serielized storytelling, because you want to be able to have variety and such over the course of a title, but they’re thankless roles when it comes to the big storylines for many of these characters when you only have 2 hours of an action movie to work with. Unless you’re devoting a large amount of that time to a character’s civilian life (like Spider-man), a civilian love interest needs to be shoehorned into the story, and at best you get them as a technical expert of some kind (which requires keeping the story centered on their field of expertise to justify their involvement) or you get the hostage trope.

The movies do much better with love interests that can fight side-by-side together and legitimately go on the adventures, thus freeing the screenwriters.
TheUnworthyThor
TheUnworthyThor - 5/7/2018, 5:05 AM
@Chewtoy - That would make a lot more sense except we had Hulk movie and we met Betty and her father is still appearing in the movies including Infinity War.
Chewtoy
Chewtoy - 5/7/2018, 5:17 AM
@TheUnworthyThor - What would her role in the Avengers be? At best, it would be like Pepper in Infinity War... there to kiss Bruce for a scene and nag/worry about him. These Avengers films are too packed to devote more than a token glance at any one character’s civilian lives.

In any event, in universe I assume that Bruce’s relationship with Betty has the same problem as his non-started relationship with Natasha... he got scared of hurting her and ran. Only instead of telling that story with a side character who the writers had to shoehorn into the plot, it was told with an action-Star teammate standing in.
TheUnworthyThor
TheUnworthyThor - 5/7/2018, 5:47 AM
@Chewtoy - She doesn’t need to have a big role, the Pepper appearance type thing is great, but maybe not even that much. It just didn’t need to feel so falseso that they majority of people rejected it. Banner wasn’t with Betty because he was a fugitive on the run but if he’s not anymore and working with the Avengers where is she? If he’s too dangerous to have a relationship why begin one with Black Widow in the first place? And if you are willing to give it a shot why not go back to the one you already love? Surely Banner has talked about her. And she’s Black Widow so of course she knows everything about Betty before she ever even met Bruce in Calcutta. It’s just not an arc for Bruce that makes much sense to most of us.
Highflyer
Highflyer - 5/7/2018, 6:12 AM
@Chewtoy - I think she could have worked as a scientist for the avengers and and also the fail safe for bruce. This could cause strain on their relationship as she may feel she's being used more for her effect on the hulk instead for her brain and work.
Chewtoy
Chewtoy - 5/7/2018, 8:40 AM
@TheUnworthyThor - The fact that Banner *wasn’t* willing to give it a shot seemed to be the end point of the subplot, to me. He didn’t even realize Natasha was attracted to him until Cap spells it out for him, he only entertains the idea of being with her after an especially traumatic mission where he lost control and she was there to comfort him and offer him an escape, and after she makes him Hulk out again to be more useful, he runs and ends up fleeing the entire Earth. On the Hulk side, at least, the arc makes fine sense to me. He’s a guy who broke up with the love of his life to protect her, starts to get his life back together, gets tempted by another woman, panics and runs.

@Highflyer - As I said, the “expert” role can work, but even then you have logistical problems for the writers to deal with. The great thing about Gamora/Peter or Vision/Wanda is that they can insert a scene to advance the romantic subplot easily at any point in the adventure, because they’re on it together. There’s a lot of freedom in that. Civilian roles are much more limiting... the action either takes place away from them, or they quickly end up in danger of being the damsel in distress.
Kyos
Kyos - 5/7/2018, 4:45 AM
I do wish we'd gotten a bit more on this in IW, but I was also never anti-Nat/Bruce. It's understandable though that Gamora/Quill and Wanda/Vision were more important to the overall story, and why Pepper/Tony got a little more attention as well. Maybe 'to be continued/resolved' in A4, when the first two other relationships won't be as relevant.
OmegaDaGrodd
OmegaDaGrodd - 5/7/2018, 4:57 AM
There are about 3 earth based quiet moments this movie needed

1. Rhodey and Falcon address Rhodes injury and Rhodes eases Falcon's conscience

2. Bruce tries to address his relationship with Widow while she's explaining the Civil War/Wakanda to him, but she tells him there will be time for that later (which could seed concern that one dies and also give an opportunity for Banner to mention calling in the Hulkbuster, which kinda shows up out of nowhere)

3. They should have left in the bit after the quinjet lands in Wakanda where Falcon grills Bucky about no longer being susceptible to Hydra mind control

These 3 scenes could've been short but would've nicely addressed the fallout from AoU and CW nicely
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