From David Harbour to Olga Kurylenko, here are actors from Black Widow that could return in future MCU projets.

Around 10 years after her first MCU appearance on-screen in Iron Man 2, Scarlett Johansson finally got her solo Black Widow movie. Complete with a nod to the infamous Budapest punchline, a dive into the Red Room, and incredible fight scenes with the classic group of trained killers known as the Widows, the movie grossed $379.8 million at the box office. Although Black Widow was released at the beginning of Phase Four, after the release of the record-breaking Avengers: Endgame, which featured Natasha's self-sacrifice, the film opened up a whole new side of the MCU. In addition to being a beautiful send-off to the beloved original Avengers member, Black Widow brought in some brand-new characters with some iconic actors, from Florence Pugh, known for Midsommar and Little Women, and Stranger Things's David Harbour.

The MCU is absolutely notorious for the weaving of multiple storylines between films, and their ability to tease new characters in previous projects. With Black Widow bringing brand-new characters into the universe with pre-established off-screen backstories, it put creators in a wonderful place for future films or series featuring the new characters. Viewers fell in love with Natasha's misfit family, especially Pugh's Yelena, who later made a highly-praised supporting appearance in Hawkeye. With the door left open, here are five other actors from Black Widow who could return in future MCU movies or Disney+ series.

While we have already seen Yelena Belova (Pugh) being a pivotal part of the 2021 Disney+ series Hawkeye, another actress we could possibly see return to the MCU is Rachel Weisz, who played Melina, the Russian scientist and unofficial adoptive mother of both Natasha and Yelena. Weisz, with over 57 acting credit under her bet, was a fan favorite of Black Widow, and portrayed a brilliant but tortured mind perfectly. Melina escaped with Yelena and Alexei, as well as the rest of the widows, leaving Weisz's future with the MCU open. Giant Freakin Robot, in fact, predicts that her return might be sooner than later.

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Alexei, also referred to as Red Guardian, the Russian version of Captain America, also disappears at the end of Black Widow. This character loves the spotlight and was just broken out of a maximum security prison, finally free after years, so there is a lot of room for the Red Guardian to come into play in the future of the MCU. David Harbour will play the beloved Hopper on Stranger Things for one more season, but, after that, there's definitely a possibility he could return as the Red Guardian in the MCU. Speaking to Variety, Harbour pondered the character's life before landing in prison and after Natasha's death as possible narrative routes for a future movie or Disney+ series.

One of the more controversial aspects of Black Widow was the execution of the classic Marvel villain Taskmaster being portrayed by Olga Kurylenko, effectively ignoring the beloved comic book origins of the character. Nonetheless, Kurylenko's performance was eerie and powerful, and did the character justice. At the end of the film, Natasha saves Taskmaster, who turns out to be Antonia Dreykov, trying to clean the "red from her ledger" and the weight she has carried with her. She succeeds in saving Antonia and freeing her from the drug-induced hypnotism she was under. As such, Antonia leaves with the Widows and Yelena, leaving room for her to show up in new projects either as Taskmaster or maybe even leader of the Black Widows.

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Now, with Yelena on the mission to free the rest of the Widows who are still under the influence of Dreykov's drug, the surviving Black Widows could be a powerful force to appear in new MCU projects. Another minor character we could see in the future, possibly assisting them, is Mason, who is portrayed by actor O-T Fagbenle (The Handmaids Tale), Natasha's friend who seemed to have a lot of unseen backstories with her and now could be a known asset to Yelena. It would be fun to see him as a reoccurring character in Yelena's MCU life, especially considering their mutual relationship with Natasha. The two characters exchanged a comedic back and forth, after all.

The last actor that we will definitely see more of is in the Black Widow post-credits scene. Julia Louis-Dreyfus technically made her debut as Valentine in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier Disney+ series, but were it not for the pandemic disrupting the MCU's theatrical release plans — Black Widow was meant to release in 2020 — she would have first been seen in Black Widow. She recruits Yelena, hiring her to kill Clint Barton (a storyline that bleeds into Hawkeye). More than that, we know that Valentina is a key player in the formation of the Thunderbolts and has a long-standing relationship with Nick Fury in Marvel Comics. With the Thunderbolts movie given the greenlight, and fans wondering about possible members of the group in the MCU, we'll just to wait and see where else Valentina pops up next.