Why Ana De Armas Replaced Scarlett Johansson In Ghosted, And How Her John Wick Spinoff Helped Make It Happen

Ana De Armas and Chris Evans for GHOSTED
(Image credit: AppleTV+)

Hollywood is driven by schedules. Want to know when that movie you have been dying to see is finally coming out? We have a full schedule of Upcoming 2023 movies. Are you a studio looking for the best release window? Check the schedule. Are you a producer hoping to land the ideal director or cast members? You are beholden to their schedules. This is something that Ghosted director Dexter Fletcher discovered when he was working with Chris Evans to nail down a co-star. Originally, Ghosted was meant to be a Marvel reunion of sorts (something we've known about Ghosted for a while), casting Scarlett Johansson opposite the Captain America actor. But Scarlett Johansson had to exit the movie, and now we have more details as to why. Read on as you wait for the movie to arrive on Apple TV+ later this week.

Chris Evans has a rich history with both ladies, having appeared alongside Scarlett Johansson in countless Marvel stories that you will encounter if you ever try to watch the Marvel movies in order. But Evans and Ana De Armas also turned heads as members of the first Knives Out cast. See where they placed on our ranking of the five best Knives Out performances. So the moment that Johansson had to drop Ghosted, Evans rang up De Armas, according to Dexter Fletcher, who went on to elaborate:

Chris is a great guy, and much loved by everyone he works with. So when things didn't quite work out with Scarlett, which was his other great plan, I think (Ana) was his next go-to sort of… I mean, I said to him, ‘What about Ana?’ And he was on the phone with her within the next three seconds.

But Fletcher confirms Scarlett Johansson was the option in the planning stages of Ghosted. Only, those aforementioned schedules (so troublesome) came into play. The director continued: 

When (Evans) came to me, and we were talking about it with Skydance, they were like, ‘Okay, we really think there's a good chance that Scarlett…’ She was certainly engaged, and Chris and her had been speaking about it. The conversation got to a certain point, but then she had to make a choice, and another project moved. And so we didn't fit into her window. But then Ballerina moved, and we did fit into Ana's window. So it was one of those things. It's the choice between a rock and a hard place. I mean, I wasn't going to complain about either options.

Because as you will see when you check Ghosted out, Chris Evans can spark chemistry with virtually any actor, and he falls into a comfortable rhythm with Ana De Armas basically from the opening of this film. And the movie takes audiences to some unexpected places as it tells the story of a needy farmer (Evans) who thinks the beautiful girl he met at the Farmer’s Market is blowing him off. It might not make our current list of the best movies available on Apple TV+ at the moment, but if you are fans of the actors, you should press play starting on Friday, April 21.

Sean O'Connell
Managing Editor

Sean O’Connell is a journalist and CinemaBlend’s Managing Editor. Having been with the site since 2011, Sean interviewed myriad directors, actors and producers, and created ReelBlend, which he proudly cohosts with Jake Hamilton and Kevin McCarthy. And he's the author of RELEASE THE SNYDER CUT, the Spider-Man history book WITH GREAT POWER, and an upcoming book about Bruce Willis.