Emily Blunt was Marvel Studios' first choice to play Black Widow in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but here's why she didn't ultimately get the part. Ever since debuting as Natasha Romanoff in Iron Man 2, Scarlett Johansson has become one of the biggest movie stars on the planet. She's starred in seven MCU movies, with her eighth and final appearance coming in a long-awaited solo film - which fans now have to wait even longer to see.
Prior to joining the MCU, Johansson's profile began to rise after appearing in such films as Lost in Translation, The Island, and The Prestige, but that didn't make her the frontrunner for Black Widow's part. When Marvel Studios was casting the role initially, they looked at many different rising actresses to take on the hero. The top choice for the studio was Emily Blunt, who was only a few years removed from appearing in The Devil Wears Prada. She was reported to be in talks to play Black Widow in early 2009 but was then replaced by Johansson just a few months later. So what happened?
When Blunt originally signed on to appear in The Devil Wears Prada, her contract with Fox included an option that the studio could exercise to put her in one of their other upcoming projects. Fox waited a few years to make use of this option, though, as they wanted Blunt to star opposite Jack Black in Gulliver's Travels. This decision came while Blunt was also in negotiations to play Black Widow in Iron Man 2 and created a scheduling conflict for the actress. Although Blunt and her team tried to make it work, it became impossible for her to be in both movies and Gulliver's Travels took precedence because of her pre-existing deal. With Blunt no longer in the running, Marvel turned to Johansson again (as she originally screen-tested for the role) and brought her aboard the MCU.
Missing out on the role of Black Widow has proven to be quite the missed opportunity for Blunt. Gulliver's Travels did her no favors as it was critically panned and only made $237 million worldwide on a $112 million budget. Even though Iron Man 2 is usually thought as one of the MCU's worst movies, it still received mostly positive reviews and made over $630 million worldwide. As a result, Blunt was not able to join what would become the biggest movie franchise of all-time - even though she's still routinely linked to upcoming MCU movies and characters.
The good news for Blunt is that she's managed to shake off the MCU and make quite the career for herself anyway. She starred in Rian Johnson's Looper to get a taste of sci-fi/action films and then starred opposite Tom Cruise in Edge of Tomorrow - and will do so again if the sequel ever happens. Blunt also helped launch franchises with Sicario and A Quiet Place, and could do so again with Jungle Cruise and Mary Poppins Returns. So, even though Blunt missed out on a career-altering role because of studio contracts, she's managed to build an impressive career and Johansson proved to be a perfect Black Widow in the MCU.
