Scarlett Johansson was introduced to the MCU as Natasha Romanoff aka Black Widow in Iron Man 2. The character went on to become an integral part of the Avengers. She appeared in many MCU films including The Avengers, Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Avengers: Age of Ultron, Captain America: Civil War, Avengers: Infinity War, Avengers: Endgame, and Black Widow.
Johansson had several reservations about debuting in the MCU with the role. While Iron Man 2 proved to be the lynchpin for the character in the franchise, Johansson felt that she had not yet owned the character in the film. She started to enjoy playing the character from the first Avengers film.
Scarlett Johansson Initially Did Not Feel Like She Owned Her MCU Character
Scarlett Johansson made her debut in the MCU as Black Widow in Iron Man 2. The film had the character in a supporting role, mostly being a ‘femme fatale’ figure in the entire proceedings of the film, while also having a flirty chemistry with Tony Stark. It seems Johansson did not completely enjoy playing the character in her debut MCU film.
In the latest book MCU: The Reign of Marvel Studios, Johansson addressed how she did not feel like she owned the character in Iron Man 2. She also revealed that she started to enjoy playing the role from The Avengers where her character became more interesting and had strong motivations. She said,
“I didn’t feel like I owned the suit until the first Avengers. I didn’t know how people would react to me in that role, if they would accept me as the character. Joss Whedon and I talked about her past. Who is she? How does she get to be a mercenary? What path do you follow in order to get to that place? We both wanted to see the darker side of her – why did she have to learn those skills?”
Black Widow became a significant contributor to the narrative in The Avengers. She continued having a major role to play in future MCU films and audiences also got to know more about the character’s tragic past and motivations throughout these films.
Scarlett Johansson’s Secret MCU Project Is Still Happening
Kevin Feige announced in 2021 that Scarlett Johansson will be producing a future MCU film. But little has been known about the project and the actress is also tight-lipped about it too. Earlier this year, Johansson assured fans that the project is still happening and work on it had been stopped due to the Hollywood strikes. She told Comicbook.com,
“It is still happening. Yes. It is still happening, [but] not currently because nothing is happening right now. We’re all sort of in this holding pattern as we wait out the writers’ strike and potentially our own guild strike, and so on and so forth…Right before the strike, we were in the middle of developing it, and now everything is at a simmer.”
It remains to be seen which Marvel project brought in Johansson as an active producer. An official announcement is awaited in the coming months as Marvel continues to churn out and announce new projects for their current and upcoming phases.
