“I felt like I was having an affair or something”: Scarlett Johansson Felt Guilty Because of Marvel’s Strange Policy That Went Against Her Own Values

Rarely do we hear about actors defying the powerful studios they work with. Scarlett Johansson, a talented and fiercely independent actress, found herself in an unusual moral bind when Marvel’s policies clashed with her own principles.

Johansson has produced incredible work in movies. Since she started her career in the 1994 film North, she has coasted from genre to genre. Romantic comedies like He’s Just Not That Into You, Her, and Rough Night are some of her best known works. Additionally, she has provided the voices for many animated characters, including Princess Mindy in The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie, Kaa in The Jungle Book, and Ash in Sing.

Moreover, as a result of her recurring role as Black Widow in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, she has achieved success, unlike anything any other actress has ever experienced.
Scarlett Johansson as Black Widow
But in 2019, not long after wrapping up filming on her own Black Widow movie, the actress acknowledged that keeping quiet about this eagerly anticipated movie had left a negative effect on her.

The Strange Policy at Marvel Made Scarlett Johansson Feel Guilty

This won’t be wrong to say that Scarlett Johansson rose to fame after portraying Natasha Romanoff, a.k.a. Black Widow, in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The actress, who is best known for playing Black Widow in the MCU, once revealed that the studio’s secretive culture violated her strongly held personal values and left her grappling with a profound sense of guilt.

In 2019, Johansson, a well-known advocate for openness and sincerity, shared about the emotional uproar she went through as a result of Marvel’s rigid ‘keeping secrets’ policy.
“I’m not a guarded, secretive person by nature anyway.”
Thus, when reporters and fans inquired about the Black Widow movie, the actress discovered herself experiencing
“A strange phenomenon of feeling kind of guilty … like you’re doing something wrong.”
Scarlett Johansson
Further, while laughing, the actress remarked:
“I felt like I was having an affair or something and everyone suspected it.”
Johansson also claimed the process of working on Black Widow with Marvel for eight years was challenging.
“Was more than I ever could have hoped for. The film deals with real, complicated stuff.”

**Scarlett Johansson Absolutely Hated Wearing Her Black Widow Outfit**

Scarlett Johansson played the important role of Black Widow, a character who was essentially a shape-shifter in the film, and she gracefully played her part in Cate Shortland’s movie.

Although the actress’s signature all-black outfit was never changed or replaced, there was one outfit that she abhorred dearly. One particular costume, according to the Lucy actress, was so despised that it was never featured in the film.
Scarlett Johansson
When asked about the time of the shooting, Johansson acknowledged that the MCU was going for a femme fatale appearance. She clarified that the costumes were crucial to the character’s growth because they showed how her persona changed over time.

The Under the Skin actress appeared to be unwilling to wear one particular costume, though.
“In some [ways] I look at it as a costume she was wearing — at the time, Marvel was interested in the character being a shape-shifter. 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.”
The costume was quickly replaced with one that better suited the circumstances of the actual events that occurred.
Scarlett Johansson as Black Widow
For the unversed, several pandemic box office records were broken by Black Widow, which brought in more than $379 million worldwide.