Scarlett Johansson Reveals How Close She Came to Not Being Black Widow

Scarlett Johansson's Black Widow is looked at as one of the foundational members of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Then, it must be shocking to hear the star talk about how she was initially passed over for the part. In a sit down with Vanity Fair, the actress discussed how Emily Blunt had initially been chosen to be Black Widow in Iron Man 2. But, when that fell through, Johansson jumped at the opportunity. The MCU could have very well looked a whole lot different if things had gone in that other direction. Fans might be talking about a Blunt led vehicle next year and Johansson's recent career would have unfolded so much differently. A big deciding factor in her acceptance of the role ended up being Jon Favreau and Kevin Feige's personal vision for the project. She met with the duo that was casting the part and fell in love with the entire deal. You can imagine the shock when she wasn't choice number one. But, in the words of Tony Stark, "everything happens exactly how it is supposed to."

"I was visiting my husband at the time at work," Johansson begins. "I remember being in a random hotel somewhere. And I got that call and I was so, so disappointed. And then that was it. You know, life went on. I mean, I've certainly had enough experience of rejection."

"I'm not one to hold a grudge or anything," she elaborated. "I was super excited about it. And I met with Jon again, and we had a funny conversation about how he had not cast me. But I was excited. I was so stoked."

Black Widow's first solo adventure is finally on the way, and fans are concerned about how the story will unfold. Closure is a word on the tongues of many fans of the character after her demise in Endgame. But, Johansson has been on the record stating that Black Widow will offer people some closure after that abrupt end.

"We just wrapped Black Widow like two weeks or something like that so it's very fresh in my mind and I don't have a total perspective on it yet," she explained. "It's a film about self forgiveness and it's a film about family. I think in life, we come of age many times in life, and we have these moments where you're in a transitional phase and then you're sort of beyond it. I think in the Black Widow film, I think the character when we find her, I think, is in a real moment of crisis. Throughout the film, by facing herself in a lot of ways and a lot of things that make her her, she actually comes through that crisis on the other side and is able to reset into that space where she's a more rounded, self-possessed person."

Another conversation that occurred over the course of the interview was the total impact of Avengers: Endgame. She talked about the overwhelming pride that comes with the completion of such a large project.

"I'm really proud of Endgame. It was so ambitious," Johansson told VantiyFair. "I felt it really strongly delivered. I felt it was satisfying. Actually, I felt like Endgame elevated the genre in a lot of ways and it actually allowed all of us as characters to have great dramatic moments where you don't really have that room in those genre movies because they're so plot-driven. This one was actually quite character-driven. I felt very emotional when I watched it but also very proud of it."