Scarlett Johansson has praised Kevin Feige for giving fans what they least expected and making her Black Widow movie a family drama.
The Marriage Story actress joined the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) as Natasha Romanoff/Black Widow for Iron Man 2 in 2010 and has been one of the mainstays of the franchise, with her appearing in all the Avengers movies until Natasha's demise in last year's Avengers: Endgame.
After many years of speculation, Johansson was finally given her own standalone Black Widow movie, which is set between the events of Captain America: Civil War and Avengers: Infinity War. Unlike most other MCU instalments, the film is a family drama, focusing on her relationship with sister figure Yelena, played by Florence Pugh, and parent figures played by David Harbour and Rachel Weisz.
In an interview with Total Film magazine, Johansson praised Marvel boss Feige for subverting expectations and coming up with the family drama angle.
"I think part of Kevin Feige's genius is that he always thinks about what fans expect out of these films and then gives them something that they never could've dreamed of," she gushed. "The idea of Natasha Romanoff in a family drama is the least expected thing, and I had to wrap my head around what that was going to be because there's such a big tonal shift."
The 35-year-old shared that she wanted to make sure there was an emotional story to tell before agreeing to do a standalone film.
"I think from the very beginning when we first started talking about doing this standalone film, there was no reason to do it unless we could really dig deep and be brave and go there," Johansson explained. "Having played this character for a decade, I wanted to make sure that it would feel artistically and creatively rewarding for me as well as the fans."
Black Widow was due to be released in May, but is currently delayed indefinitely due to the Covid-19 pandemic. According to Film Music Reporter, Marvel bosses have used the delay to replace composer Alexandre Desplat with Lorne Balfe.
