‘Avengers: Age of Ultron’ Cast Rumors: Black Widow Has Romantic Link To Winter Soldier? Will He Join The Avengers In The Future?

There is already confirmation that Iron Man sidekick/future replacement War Machine will appear in 'Avengers: Age of Ultron." Will Captain America do the same? What does Black Widow have to say with all this?

It all starts with a rumor, that these days starts with a tweet. Latino Review's premier rumor provider El Mayimbe has a provocative tweet inspired by Scarlett Johansson's recent 'with child' status:

I wonder how AVENGERS: AGE OF ULTRON will handle BLACK WIDOW being pregnant since in the script she is dating ************ :)

— elmayimbe (@elmayimbe) March 4, 2014

Fast forward to an in-depth interview with Sebastian Stan, the Winter Soldier. In a group interview, he tackled questions about his character, the physical demands and the implications of a possible Black Widow tryst. The Interview from Screenrant:

"Sebastian Stan on taking a bigger role in the Marvel Cinematic Universe: Well, I think in my brain I knew or I hoped I knew a long, long time ago, but I didn't really know until about a year ago to be quite honest.

Well, that was the whole thing. I had no idea, you know? It obviously came up in discussions very early on when I got involved and that was part of the excitement for me. And looking back, I should've sort of asked myself whether I could've known in any way, shape or form, but it really is one of the more interesting storylines that Steve Rogers has. So, it actually does make sense to want to take it to that level, especially the way that the whole MCU [Marvel Cinematic Universe] is moving anyway."

A cautious answer without divulging contract details. Yes, contract details have been essential in determining plot lines. Contract details (or lack thereof) has led the rumor mill to determine the non-existence (at present) of "Iron Man 4" or that Nick Fury may die after "Captain America: The Winter Soldier." If Stan spilled on his multi-picture deal, the rumor mill would quickly add up the equation.

On the characters history with Black Widow and whether it might develop into something, that could ultimately lead to him joining the Avengers: "One of the things that I think Marvel does so well and I think these films have done so well is there's always, always these possibilities. They don't forget about that. They don't forget about all of those little things that have life in the comic books. Whether they're going to take somewhere or not, I don't know. Really, I genuinely don't know. I think there's enough there that you can point to it and go, 'Wait a minute, what is that? That makes sense.' But I don't think it's generally going to be explored in this film."

Stan has a good way to defuse questions the way he dodges bullets. Comic books have a lot of subtle subplot hints and foreshadowing-which is part of the excitement. The entire existence of comic books rely on the anticipation of 'what happens next?.' It is no surprise that the movies based on comic books will do the same.

The reality is that Chris Evans is anticipating contract negotiations for the next phase of Captain America and the Avengers. The reception to Stan as the Winter Soldier is crucial. If he is well-received by the public, he might be deemed as a worthy successor if they fail to extend Evans.

While Evans is a well-loved character, he is not, by any means, as revered as Robert Downey Jr's "Iron Man." If he is interesting enough, a relationship with the Black Widow is something Marvel can develop in the future. After all, pregnancy only lasts nine months.