Hollywood star Scarlett Johansson’s name is synonymous with a wide variety of roles that range from commercial blockbusters to critically acclaimed projects. The actor’s penchant for choosing different and challenging characters across genres has made her one of the most bankable stars in the industry. With her MCU gig as Black Widow, Johansson further cemented her place among the A-listers in Hollywood.

Marvel star Scarlett Johansson
Looking back at her stint with Marvel and the development of Black Widow through the different MCU phases, Scarlett Johansson revealed interesting details about her first time playing the character in Iron Man 2 and her opinions about the extent of her role in the film.

 

Scarlett Johansson Spilled The Beans On Her First Stint As Black Widow

Marvel’s swashbuckling secret agent and superhero Natasha Romanoff aka Black Widow was officially introduced in the MCU in Iron Man 2. Scarlett Johansson who portrayed the character, wasn’t an integral part of the franchise until her presence in the Avengers films. Johansson interestingly replaced first choice Emily Blunt who rejected the role to fulfill her commitment to Gulliver’s Travels. Speaking of her debut as Black Widow in Iron Man 2, the Match Point actor who appeared only briefly, was realistic about her character’s arc in the film.

“That movie wasn’t going to move the needle forward in terms of how my character was written, but there was potential for what it could be — a potential for growth in subsequent films,”
Scarlett Johansson. Black Widow

As predicted, Johansson’s hope for her character Black Widow materialized as she had envisioned and went on to become a prominent cog in the massive MCU wheel in future films starting with The Avengers. This further led to Johansson starring in a standalone film based on her character. Though Black Widow, which was released in 2021 resulted in multiple issues and controversies regarding monetary benefits involving Johansson, the character is and always will be associated with the actor and her impressive portrayal.

 

Scarlett Johansson’s Asteroid City To Premier At Cannes

Scarlett Johansson is always known to make eclectic and interesting choices with her films. The actor’s next film which is set to release is the Wes Anderson directorial titled Asteroid City which will premiere at the Cannes film festival on 23rd May, 2023. The film set in 1955, follows transformative events that occur at an annual Junior Stargazers Convention. Johansson will play the role of a yesteryear icon rumored to be based on Bette Davis.
Scarlett Johansson in Asteroid City
In an intriguing bit of trivia, Johansson was paid a modest salary of just over 4000 dollars a week for her role in the film thereby answering her critics in the best way after her Black Widow controversy with Disney+. The Marvel star connected with the script of Asteroid City at a personal level and expressed a deep appreciation for the writers for making her think about and question her character deeply.
“I was curious: Who is this person? How did she get here, to be so successful at that time? She’s this star of stage and screen — what drove her there?”
Johansson applied these questions and analysis to her character, Midge Campbell who is a 50s star and was able to do justice to the role thanks to Wes Anderson’s implicit trust in her abilities.