Scarlett Johansson on Black Widow in Avengers: Endgame: “I Was Excited to Die With Honor”

Scarlett Johansson is having a pretty great year. In addition to being the highest-paid actress in Hollywood, she also recently co-starred in Avengers: Endgame, which is now the top-grossing film of all time. The actor recently had an interview with The Hollywood Reporter in which she discussed many things, including her character’s death in Endgame. While Johansson is finally getting her own standalone movie in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Black Widow is expected to be a prequel since her character didn’t survive her latest film. In an attempt to procure the Soul Stone, Natasha Romanoff lept to her death on Vormir in place of Hawkeye/Clint Barton (Jeremy Renner) after the two fought for each other’s lives.

“The finality of it was sad, but I was excited to die with honor,” she explained. “It felt in-character that she would sacrifice herself, of course for humanity but actually for her friends, for the people she loves. It was bittersweet.”

Johansson also shared in the interview that she first learned her character was going to die in Avengers: Endgame when Marvel Studios president, Kevin Feige, called her and broke the news right before Avengers: Infinity War went into production.

Black Widow’s big sacrifice was recently turned into a figurine, a fact that many Marvel fans thought to be odd.

Black Widow will co-star David Harbour, Rachel Weisz, and Florence Pugh, and is expected to hit theaters on May 1, 2020.

In addition to Black Widow, Johansson will also soon be seen in Taika Waititi’s Jojo Rabbit and Noah Baumbach’s Marriage Story, which just received high praise at the Venice Film Festival.

Other upcoming Marvel Studios projects include The Falcon and The Winter Soldier in Fall 2020, The Eternals on November 6, 2020, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings on February 12, 2021, WandaVision in Spring 2021, Loki in Spring 2021, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness on May 7, 2021, What If…? in Summer 2021, Hawkeye in Fall 2021, and Thor: Love and Thunder on November 5, 2021, and Black Panther 2 on May 6, 2022. Marvel Studios Disney+ series without release dates include Ms. Marvel, Moon Knight, and She-Hulk.