Scarlett Johansson’s portrayal of Natasha Romanov/Black Widow is one of the most iconic parts of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Debuting in Iron Man 2, then quickly moving up through the ranks to having an integral part in Captain America: Civil War, Black Widow is a mysterious, enigmatic and fascinating character to see in the superhero genre. Johansson’s wonderful performance is, of course, another major reason why the character has so vividly come to life. And unsurprisingly, that strength stems from the actress’ love of playing her.
Particularly over the past few years, Johansson’s choice of roles has been as diverse as anyone’s in the business. And while she’s had continuous success, Black Widow is the role that’s universally loved by her fans. But despite such a huge star like Johansson taking on the role, the character did not have that much to do in her early appearances. She has since had a huge backing from fans, which has allowed her to grow exponentially within the superhero world. During a recent interview with Michigan Avenue, Johansson discussed her love for playing Black Widow as well as the endless layers of discovery that the character possesses.
I really like playing Natasha, playing the Black Widow [in The Avengers, Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Avengers: Age of Ultron, and Captain America: Civil War]. It’s been an interesting journey, to take a character and grow it over these years, and peel the layers back and be able to, as you do in life, grow with this person. It’s a character that’s really enigmatic and has an amazing origins story, so there’s a lot for me to play off of.
As the MCU has progressed, more and more has been revealed about Black Widow. That’s not to say there aren’t more facets to the character. But playing a recurring character like Black Widow can be difficult for any performer. Thankfully, Johansson has found ways to avoid hitting that roadblock. She went on to explain how the role of Black Widow keeps things fresh for her. It may be a challenging role, but that doesn’t stop her from taking it head-on.
Those things keep me going, keep me interested. And challenging myself, and trying to find projects… that I don’t know exactly how to do, but know that I can do them.
There are rumors floating around about a solo Black Widow movie happening sometime soon. Even if that doesn’t happen, the character is still going to have a major presence in future installments. Black Widow and Johansson go hand-in-hand, so hopefully the two will never part from each other on the big screen.
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