THE SCARLETT LEDGER

NATASHA ROMANOFF MIGHT HAVE MADE THE ULTIMATE SACRIFICE IN AVENGERS: ENDGAME, BUT HER STORY ISN’T COMPLETE JUST YET. SCARLETT JOHANSSON AND CO TELL TOTAL FILM ABOUT DIGGING INTO THE AVENGER’S CHEQUERED PAST IN B L A C K W I D O W, A GRITTY PREQUEL UNLIKE ANY PREVIOUS MARVEL MOVIE.

- JACK SHEPHERD

Black Widow has been a long time coming. Scarlett Johansson’s red-headed, ass-kicking, non-super superhero became an instant cinematic icon the moment she punched her first nameless goon in Iron Man 2, yet, though Johansson has spoken about her desire to make a solo movie for almost a decade, the pieces have only just fallen into place for that vision to finally become a reality. Ever since Natasha Romanoff confessed to having “red in my ledger” that she’d like to wipe out in 2012’s Avengers Assemble, viewers have known that there’s been a knotty backstory worth excavating. It’s been a lengthy wait for fans, sure, but not a frustrating one for Johansson.

“I didn’t feel the character needed to be vindicated,” she tells Total Film over Zoom after being asked about the fight to bring a solo Black Widow adventure to fruition. “When we finished Avengers: Endgame, I felt good about the work that we did. I felt that, unless we were going to go on a deep dive – which this film is… I thought, ‘OK, she’s…’”