Scarlett Johansson’s Black Widow has been a major fixture in the MCU ever since she debuted back in Iron Man 2. Yet for a time, there was a chance that we may have gotten somebody else to fill in the character’s famous black boots. Scarlett Johansson recently reflected on originally losing the Black Widow role and how she feels about the MCU 10 years later.
It’s interesting to note there were reportedly multiple actresses who were considered for the role before Scarlett Johansson eventually landed the part, including Emily Blunt, who has talked about turning down the role in the past. In a recent interview with BBC Radio 1, Johansson discussed what actually happened in regards to her own casting and had the following to say:
I was a big fan of the first Iron Man. And I wanted to work with Jon [Favreau] and Robert [Downey Jr.] and then I did not get the role and I was pretty bummed about that, happens all the time. Then, I fatefully--several weeks later, the actor who was cast in the role originally was not able to do it because of a scheduling conflict. So, Jon called me and we met again and I said, ‘Yes, I’m extremely available still.’ If anybody ever asks me about what advice I have to other actors who are trying to make it I say, ’Every opportunity is an opportunity to work, and you’ll never get a better call than when you thought you lost a job then got it.' I was so excited to have a second chance at it.
It's pretty crazy to think that Scarlett Johansson wasn’t the first choice for the role of Black Widow, since she was perfect as the character. Regardless, this has actually happened plenty of times in movies. Eric Stoltz was originally going to play Marty McFly in Back to the Future over Michael J. Fox. And multiple actors were considered for Han Solo before Harrison Ford ultimately landed the role.
Still, when I think of Black Widow, I honestly could not see anybody else in the role other than Scarlett Johansson, just like I could never see anybody else as Tony Stark but Robert Downey Jr. Florence Pugh might eventually take on the mantle of Black Widow in the future, and I loved her in this solo project. But it’s going to be hard for me to mentally disassociate the words “Black Widow” and “Scarlett Johansson." At least for a little while anyway.
Scarlett Johansson herself looks to have moved on from the role, though. In the same interview, she had this to say of her time in the MCU:
It’s been an incredible decade of time. At that point I could never have imagined how life changing all of this would be. I don’t think any of us did. I mean, obviously, Jon [Favreau] and Robert [Downey Jr.] had a sense of that, but as we collected other Avengers on the way none of us -- other than Kevin Feige probably -- could have seen what potential this whole universe had… it’s been rewarding in so many ways.
It sure has, both for the actress as well as for the fans. But what are your feelings on the actress no longer being in the MCU? Scarlett Johansson actually starred as the character in 8 different movies. Which one of them was your personal favorite performance of hers? Sound off in the poll below!
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