The “Infinity War” saga may be over, but it seems the same does not go for Black Widow actress Scarlett Johansson‘s involvement with Marvel Studios!
Scarlett recently revealed that her Marvel producing project is still on the table—and some plans are speculating that this may mean a Black Widow sequel just might be in the works.
What's Scarlett Johansson's 'Mystery Project' At Marvel?
After the release of Black Widow, Scarlett's eighth film as "Black Widow" Natasha Romanoff and first solo outing as the hero, president of Marvel Kevin Feige revealed that the actress was working with the studio to produce a "non-Black Widow related top-secret Marvel Studios project." However, when Marvel's Phase 5 and Phase 6 film schedules were revealed soon after, whatever "top-secret project" Scarlett was set to produce was apparently not on the docket.
Since then, Scarlett hadn't said much about the possible project...until now.
Exclusive: Scarlett Johansson confirms her "top secret" Marvel producing project is still in the works.
"It is still happening. "Right before the strike, we were in the middle of developing it, and now everything is at a simmer." More: https://t.co/qPQ4dddRWm pic.twitter.com/xWvqgb3k1e — Liam (@LiamTCrowley) June 13, 2023
During a press junket for the Marriage Story star's newest film, Wes Anderson's Asteroid City, Scarlett revealed to ComicBook.com that the project is still in the works but was currently on pause due to the Writer's Guild strike: "It is still happening. Yes," said the actress. "It is still happening, [but] not currently because nothing is happening right now. We're all sort of in this holding pattern as we wait out the writers' strike and potentially [a SAG-AFTRA guild] strike, and so on and so forth."
This marked the first time that the Jojo Rabbit Oscar nominee had confirmed her involvement in any capacity on a new Marvel project—previously, she told host and Marvel co-star Gwyneth Paltrow on her Gooppodcast that she was "done" with the role: "Chapter is over. I did all that I had to do. Also coming back and playing a character again and again, over a decade of time, is such a unique experience." However, this assertion has not stopped rampant fan speculation that the mystery project may in fact be a Black Widow sequel, either starring Johansson or possibly one of the other leads from the original film, such as Florence Pugh.
Fans Wonder: 'Perhaps A Black Widow Sequel?'
As soon as Scarlett's confirmation that the project would still be moving forward hit Twitter, fans of the MCU began to debate what the project would possibly be. Some said that the actress deserved to be in more Black Widow solo films, while others assumed she'd be staying firmly behind the camera and speculated the project may be a Black Widow sequel starring Florence Pugh's character, Yelena, or perhaps a Thunderbolts adaptation:
Perhaps a Black Widow sequel with Yelena as the lead?
— Luke Flux (@LukeFlux1) June 13, 2023
Producing, not necessarily acting?
— angelo (@angelongonyama) June 13, 2023
Good to see that she hasn’t completely soured on Marvel
— GoldenStryker (@GoldenStryker_) June 13, 2023
Some did find the news surprising, especially considering Scarlett sued Disney over the direct-to-streaming release of Black Widow, which she stated went against the mutually agreed-upon contract. The lawsuit was settled in 2021.
Until we get confirmation what the "top-secret" Marvel project is, the next best chance to see Scarlett in action is in Asteroid City, which hit limited theaters on June 16th and releases wide on the 23rd.
