Black Widow leak may reveal a surprise Avenger cameo

One of the greatest mysteries in the Marvel Cinematic Universe is all about Hungary's capital city, Budapest. "You and I remember Budapest very differently," Hawkeye once told Black Widow in 2012's The Avengers. It was just a throwaway line, but fan speculation over what happened in Hungary has only swelled in the years since, especially when it was brought up again in 2019's Avengers: Endgame.

With the delayed Marvel movie Black Widow, scheduled for release on May 7, 2021, a new coffee table book confirms that fans will finally learn what happened in Budapest and what significance it has between Clint and Natasha in the next Marvel movie. And while we don't know for sure, it's easy to speculate that Black Widow will have a surprise cameo from another Avenger.

What Happened? — A new coffee table book, Marvel's Black Widow: The Official Movie Special Book was released on November 3. In its pages are dozens of concept art and photographs from the set of the movie, as well as cast and crew interviews. ScreenRant picked up quotes from Scarlett Johansson contained in the book, which touches upon the movie's exploration of Budapest in Black Widow.

"People Will Feel Unsatisfied" — While these are maybe spoilers, anyone keeping up with the making of Black Widow may already know that the movie will explore Budapest in some capacity. Finally, Johansson confirms that the movie does reveal a past mission in Budapest, though exactly what happened remains unknown.

"We all agreed that we had to find out what happened in Budapest," Johansson says in the book. "That started out as this throwaway line which Joss Whedon threw into Marvel’s The Avengers as a funny moment between Hawkeye and Black Widow. That’s Clint and Natasha talking about their history, and you get a fun little Easter egg for fans to theorize about. We thought that if we don’t go back to Budapest and find out what really happened there, people will feel unsatisfied."

Speaking further, Johansson says Budapest is actually a dark chapter in Natasha's history. "I really think that Natasha is haunted by the fact that she has this past that she feels so guilty about," the actress says. "Unfinished business is that sense of guilt that follows her around, which all stems from what happened in Budapest. Black Widow is not about what happened in Budapest, but it’s a huge jumping-off point for us to understand the heaviness of Natasha’s burden."

Will Black Widow have Hawkeye? — Because Jeremy Renner's Clint Barton/Hawkeye is involved with Budapest, it's possible that Renner will return for a cameo role in Black Widow.

Interestingly, Renner has commented on the news. On his verified Instagram page, Renner shared a screencap from the account @mcugirl, which also reported on Johansson's Budapest quote, and added in text, "Hmmmmm. Loose lips sink ships Nat."

Renner is clearly having fun paraphrasing World War II-era propaganda, but it in no way confirms whether Renner will appear in the 2021 Marvel movie. In fact, it's unknown if fans will see Budapest, just that fans will learn about Budapest. Scarlett Johansson's Natasha could spill all the beans over tea with Florence Pugh with not a single visual flashback. That's unlikely, but possible!

The Inverse Analysis — However your mileage varies when it comes to the MCU, it is still fun how the franchise will pick up on the tiniest bits of lore all these years later. While it is in my personal tastes for there to be more mystery and intrigue than things spelled out all the time, I'm also curious as to how or what Marvel will do to satisfy fans with sky-high expectations.

Black Widow will be released in theaters on May 7, 2021.