The Marvel Cinematic Universe continues to be a vital part of the pop culture landscape, thanks to new titles arriving in theaters and streaming with a Disney+ subscription. There are countless questions about the future, especially which legacy characters might return in upcoming Marvel movies. Chief among them is Scarlett Johansson's Black Widow, although the actress recently explained whys he's hesitant to suit up as Natasha again. And despite my love for the character, I've got to admit that she makes a point.
Fans who have spent years watching the Marvel movies in order remember how long ScarJo's tenure as Natasha was, starting back with 2010's Iron Man 2. Robert Downey Jr. is returning in Avengers: Doomsday as a Doctor Doom, the Asteroid City actress spoke to Vanity Fair about why she doesn't want to play Black Widow again. In her words:
It would be very hard for me to understand in what capacity [returning] would make sense for me, for the character that I play. I miss my buddies and really would love to be with them forever, but what works about the character is that her story is complete. I don’t want to mess with that. For fans too—it’s important for them.
Why does she have to be so right? Black Widow offered closure for Natasha, following her tragic death in Avengers: Endgame. And because of that, she's seemingly not interested in playing the OG member of The Avengers anytime soon.
As fun as it would be to see Black Widow back for the multiversal adventures coming in Doomsday and Secret Wars, bringing the character back would likely cheapen the sacrifice of her death. Especially since her passing has also been a primary motivation behind both Hawkeye and her sister Yelena.
What we know about Avengers: Doomsday has been limited thus far, but details about its cast are slowly trickling out. In addition to RDJ's Doctor Doom, Marvel's live stream Doomsday event announced a huge ensemble of characters. Scarlett Johansson was noticeably missing, and she seems passionate about not reuniting the legacy of her signature character. Of course, there could be a way around this. It is the multiverse after all.
Because while Robert Downey Jr. is returning to the MCU, he's not coming back as Tony Stark/Iron Man. Instead, he's playing a new character entirely thanks to the expanded rules of the multiverse. This allows Tonys' death in Endgame to remain intact, so maybe Johansson can be convinced by The Russo Brothers to come back as someone else entirely. Hey, a fan can dream.
While she's not expected to appear in any MCU projects, Scarlet Johansson stars in Jurassic World: Rebirth on July 2nd as part of the 2025 move release list. As for Avengers: Doomsday, that'll hit theaters May 1st, 2026.
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