Scarlett Johansson played the role of Natasha Romanoff / Black Widow in nine MCU movies, including the standalone movie Black Widow. Her Marvel roles contributed to her becoming the world’s highest-paid actress in 2018 and 2019. Despite her success, Johansson revealed that her journey with Marvel was not always smooth, highlighting instances where her character was sexualized in the early films.
The Under the Skin actress specifically called out her catsuit in Iron Man 2. She revealed that the writers had initially planned a very silly, hyper-s*xualized costume for Captain America: The Winter Soldier. However, she was able to voice her opinion and successfully thwart this plan.
Scarlett Johansson Rejected A Silly Costume In Captain America 2
In a 2021 interview with Fatherly, Scarlett Johansson opened up about her character’s evolving appearance in the MCU movies leading up to the release of Black Widow. Previously, she had spoken out against her overly s*xualized catsuit in Iron Man 2. However, starting from The Avengers, Johansson revealed that there was an “evolution of her look.”
Following her more practical suit in the $1.5 billion ensemble film, Johansson had the opportunity to wear some comfier clothes in Captain America: The Winter Soldier. She was seen fighting the HYDRA alongside Cap in a brown leather jacket, a black tank top, and pants. However, the Lost in Translation actress disclosed that the initially suggested attire was, at best, ridiculous.
In the scene where her character first appears to pick up Chris Evans’ Steve Rogers after his daily run, the initial idea was for Johansson to wear tennis whites and a blonde wig. She revealed that the ‘bombshell’ look was quickly abandoned. The Asteroid City actress attributed the poorly conceived idea to “a lot of male writers” in the film.
She emphasized that, by that time, audiences were leaning towards a more progressive direction, enabling her to voice her opinion and effect changes to the scene. Johansson shared with Fatherly:
“When we were doing Captain America: The Winter Soldier — this is a really funny thing — the look is fantastic and utilitarian. She first drives up in this beautiful car and picks up Cap, and initially in the script, it was like, she arrives in her tennis whites, with a blonde wig. It was very quickly killed. You work with a lot of male writers. Things were shifting. You have to be a part of the change. Audiences are also demanding stuff and there’s a cultural shift.”
As her character’s appearance evolved, Scarlett Johansson also grew as an actress throughout her years with Marvel. Her Marvel films earned her the title of the highest-grossing star in Hollywood, having played roles in movies that collectively grossed over $14.5 billion at the box office.
Scarlett Johansson Spoke Out Against Hyper-S*xualization In Iron Man 2
During a set visit roundtable while filming Black Widow, Scarlett Johansson criticized Iron Man 2 in response to a question about the s*xualization of superheroes. She revealed that she was treated like a possession in the film, even referring to a dialogue by Tony Stark. When Natasha Romanoff walks past Tony in a scene in the film, the character says, “I want one.” She revealed that she took it as a compliment at the time. Johansson shared (via Collider):
“You look back at Iron Man 2 and while it was really fun and had a lot of great moments in it, the character is so sexualized, you know? Really talked about like she’s a piece of something, like a possession or a thing or whatever — like a piece of ass, really. And Tony even refers to her as something like that at one point. What does he say? ‘I want some.’ Yeah and at one point calls her a piece of meat and maybe at that time that actually felt like a compliment.”
However, she later reflected on how she used to measure her worth against such comments. Johansson expressed satisfaction with the positive message young girls receive in today’s changing film landscape. She also conveyed a sense of pride in being part of this evolution.
Scarlett Johansson’s Black Widow and other Marvel films are now available for streaming on Disney+.
