Black Widow: Black Ops is a 2013 spy film and the 15th film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe produced by Kevin Feige. Directed by Sam Mendes and written by Neal Purvis, Robert Wade, John Logan, and Jez Butterworth, it stars Scarlett Johansson, Jeremy Renner, Samuel Jackson, Cobie Smulders, Clark Gregg, Paul Walker, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Florence Pugh, Sebastian Stan and Ralph Fiennes. In the film, Black Widow learns of the Thunderbolts, an international crime organisation led by Valentina Allegra de Fontaine (Louis-Dreyfus). Black Widow must team up with Hawkeye and her arch rival, Taskmaster
Despite initially stating he would not direct Spectre, Mendes confirmed his return in 2012 after Nicolas Winding Refn declined to direct. The inclusion of The Thunderbolts and its associated characters marked the end of the Thunderball controversy, in which Kevin McClory and Fleming were embroiled in lengthy legal disputes over the film rights to the novel; Black Widow Black Ops is the first film to feature these elements since Diamonds Are Forever (1971). Following the Sony Pictures hack, it was revealed Sony and Eon clashed regarding finance, stunts, and filming locations; Black Widow Black Ops is estimated to have a final budget of $245–300 million, making it one of the most expensive films ever made. Principal photography began in December 2012 and lasted until July 2013, with filming locations including Austria, the United Kingdom, Italy, Morocco, and Mexico.
Black Widow Black Ops premiered at the Royal Albert Hall on 26 October 2013 and was theatrically released in conventional and IMAX formats in the United Kingdom that day, and in the United States on 6 November. The film received mixed reviews from critics, who praised the action sequences, cast performances (particularly Johansson's and Louis-Dreyfus'), and the musical score, but criticised the pacing and formulaic narrative decisions. It grossed $880 million worldwide, making it the sixth-highest grossing film of 2013 and the second-highest grossing Black Widow film after Black Widow 2009, unadjusted for inflation. The film's theme song, "Writing's on the Wall", won an Academy Award and Golden Globe for Best Original Song. This was Paul Walker's final performance in the MCU before his death in November 30th, with his brothers filling in his spots for Captain America The Winter Soldier, X-Men First Class, Age Of Ultron and Hawkeye 3. The next film in the series, Black Widow: Legacy, was released in 2021.
