Scarlett Johansson made her debut as Natasha Romanoff in the 2010 Iron Man 2. Ever since, the role of Black Widow has made Johansson one of the biggest movie stars in the world.
Before joining the Marvel Universe, Johansson was a rising star. She appeared in films such as Lost in Translation, The Island, and The Prestige. However, that didn’t make her the first choice for the role of Black Widow.
According to an article published by Looper, Marvel Studios looked at many rising actresses for the superhero role. The top choice was Emily Blunt, being that she was a rising star as well. She starred in films like Dan in Real Life and Sunshine Cleaning. She made a real impression when she earned an award nomination for her performances in The Young Victoria and The Devil Wears Prada. So what happened?
When Blunt signed a contract to appear in The Devil Wears Prada, she was required to appear in a movie of Fox's choosing. Blunt starred along Jack Black in Gulliver's Travels. This created scheduling conflicts for Blunt, causing her to drop the role of Black Widow. With her out of the picture, Marvel turned to Johansson. She later joined the Marvel Universe.
According to an interview with Parade Magazine, Scarlett Johansson remembered that she was “second choice” for the Black Widow role. She admitted that she appreciated the role more after being turned down for it.
“I was really excited to work with [director Jon Favreau],” she said. Johansson talked about her excitement when she got the call for the part. “The best call you can receive is after you are rejected for something and then you get it,” she said. “You appreciate it more. I’ve basically made a career out of being second choice.”
She continued: “Since a very young age, I’ve been rejected constantly. When people starting out ask me for advice, I always say to stay open-minded, because you never know.”
Passing up the role of Black Widow was a missed opportunity for Blunt. Gulliver's Travels only garnered $237 million worldwide on a $112 million budget. But, she was glad she didn’t become an Avenger.
In 2012, Blunt told Vulture her personal view on female superheros. She said, “Usually the female parts in a superhero film feel thankless: She’s the pill girlfriend while the guys are whizzing around saving the world.”
According to an article published by Cheat Sheet, Blunt was given a second chance to join the Marvel Universe. She was offered the role of Peggy Carter in Captain America, which was given to Hayley Atwell.
Blunt told Vulture in 2014, “It was never the right time, really, and it just didn’t work out scheduling-wise with those two. It’s always a difficult thing to talk about, because it’s not fair to the actresses who ended up playing them, you know? It just wasn’t the right time.”
Black Widow is Johansson’s first solo movie to hit theaters. While the movie was supposed to be released in May 2020, it has been pushed to November.