Black Widow star Scarlett Johansson initially thought The Avengers would be "a disaster"

Scarlett Johansson in Black Widow
(Image credit: Disney)

Black Widow star Scarlett Johansson initially thought The Avengers would be "a disaster", revealing her original thoughts in a new interview. 

Johansson shared the thoughts she had about the early days of the MCU and what it was liked to be pitched the idea for The Avengers after filming her debut in Iron Man 2.

In the interview with The Gentlewoman, Johansson said: "Even the thought of all of us together in our superhero costumes sounded like it was going to be a disaster. Not a disaster, but, like, What is this? What is this?"  

But, she came around to it eventually – sharing the exact moment during the filming for the 2012 blockbuster that changed her mind. 

"I remember doing that 360 shot, and we’re standing in the rubble of Grand Central or whatever, of this alien onslaught, and all of us are ready, like: Here we go, this is it. And then they showed us the playback, and I think that was the moment that all of us, finally, after six months of shooting, were, ‘Oh, this is going to work. I think this is going to work.'"

The first Avengers movie went on to gross over $1.5 billion at the global box office and set the stage for the next two phases of Marvel Studios releases. Johansson went on to reprise her role in Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Avengers: Age of Ultron, Captain America: Civil War, Avengers: Infinity War, and Avengers: Endgame. Now her character is finally getting her own solo movie after making the ultimate sacrifice in Endgame. 

A sacrifice Johansson feels was the right call. In an interview with Total Film Johansson explained why she was at peace with Natasha’s ending: 

“She’s had an incredible 10-year journey, and I felt that she was finally able to make an active choice...She’s made peace with that, and, in some ways, has known that’s her destiny all along, in a weird poetic way. When you look back on the films, that’s in there.”

Johansson will reprise her role as the expert level assassin in Black Widow – which recently got a July 9 release date – debuting in theaters and Disney Plus with an additional cost for subscribers. 

For now though, why not check out the best movies on Disney Plus to watch right now

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Stephanie is a comic book historian and pop culture critic for publications including SYFYFANGRRLS, Marvel, The A.V. Club, Nerdist, Den of Geek, and Rotten Tomatoes. Stephanie is also a comic creator with three ongoing webcomics, Parenthood Activate!, But What If Though?, and Living Heroes. She made her Marvel debut with a short story featuring Monica Rambeau in Marvel’s Voices: Legacy. She recently made her DC Comics debut in Wonder Woman Black and Gold #2 and is co-writing the Nubia and the Amazons miniseries.

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