If you watch the Marvel movies in order, you’ll see Scarlett Johansson make her debut in 2010’s Iron Man 2, and then you will watch her final film many movies later with 2021’s Black Widow. She was an integral part of the MCU for about a decade, and after Endgame and her solo film that followed, she hasn’t returned. Now, she’s opened up about what it was like being “wrapped up” in the same franchise for so long and the challenges that came with it.
During a conversation with David Harbour for Interview Magazine, Johansson asked about Stranger Things Season 5 and if the Hopper actor was relieved that it was ending this year. He noted that “after 10 years, it’s like, ‘Okay,’” which came after he said that it can feel like you’re playing “the same beat” when you’ve worked on the same project for a long time. He then pointed out that his Black Widow co-star was in the MCU for a decade, too. In response, the actress said:
Some of the films that I did for Marvel engaged my character more than others. Like in [Captain America: The] Winter Soldier with Chris [Evans], we were really dynamic. In some of the other films, the cast was so enormous and there was so much plot to serve that you start to feel like you’re a device to move it along. And if you’re committed to five and a half months of that, it’s like, ‘Okay. I can’t paint my nails, I can’t get a haircut.’
Marvel’s best movies, like Captain America: The Winter Soldier and Avengers: Endgame, and she leads Black Widow. However, there are others, like Iron Man 2 and even Avengers, where she has less significant roles in the story.
2025 movie schedule. She was in The Phoenician Scheme earlier this year and is the star of Jurassic World Rebirth, which hits theaters on July 2.