Variety has been on a roll lately with their “Power of Women” features. Earlier this week they had a great talk with Wonder Woman's Gal Gadot and now it's Black Widow's turn! Scarlett Johansson filled them in on the chances of her getting a Marvel solo film.
Natasha Romanoff, aka Black Widow, was introduced to the Marvel cinematic universe in 2010's Iron Man 2 but since then Johansson has gone on the feature in The Avengers, Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Avengers: Age of Ultron, and Captain America: Civil War (she'll reprise the role again for 2018's Avengers: Infinity War) but not her own movie. (Captain Marvel, starring Brie Larson, will make history as Marvel's first female-led solo film.)
When asked if fans want a Black Widow movie, Johansson told Variety, “Yeah, I guess. Marvel would know more than I do.”
It's not so much that fans wanted a Black Widow movie the most out of all of Marvel's female characters (I'd wager many X-Men would come first), it's that her not getting a solo film seemed like a serious slight as many of the male characters went on to their own spinoffs. And Johansson's star burns bright, after all. Many, including Infinity War directors Anthony and Joe Russo, have said “it's a no-brainer.”
Variety asked if she's still actually interested in doing one:
Yeah, of course. I talked to [Marvel] about it often. It would have to fit in the idea of where they want to go. I”m invested in that character. Marvel is greatly invested in that character. If I did it, I”d have to do it while I still actually wanted to wear a skin-tight catsuit. I don”t know how much longer that”s going to be.
The actor touches here on the larger issue of Hollywood's standards but in a way is hinting to Marvel that they shouldn't wait so damn long.
On that end, she went on to say “I think perhaps people at some point in the industry would have had a certain idea of my physical capability – sort of like a trap. And there was this label put on me as this bombshell. I think while it”s been flattering to be someone who is sexy, there”s something very confining about that. It implies that your strength comes from your sexuality.”
But when asked specifically where a Black Widow film could go, Johansson has some ideas:
I would like for it to happen under the right circumstances. I think there”s a lot of opportunity to mine that story line. She”s got a really rich origins story. There”s a lot of places you can go – you can bring it back to Russia. You could explore the Widow program. There”s all kinds of stuff that you could do with it. You could really uncover the identity of who this person is, where she comes from and where she”s part of.
“I think it would just have to be very much like its own specific thing. It would have to have its own specific vibe,” she continued. “It would have been totally different than any of the other standalone films. I think if the fans wanted it enough, then it would probably become a reality.”