In Fall 2019, Screen Rant was one of a group of publications to visit the London set of Black Widow, where we had the chance to talk to star Scarlett Johansson, who reprises her Marvel Cinematic Universe role as Natasha Romanoff for the eighth time. The actress made her MCU debut in 2010's Iron Man 2, working undercover for Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) and S.H.I.E.L.D. in order to keep an eye on Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.). Natasha was one of the original six members of the Avengers, but tragically met her end during a climactic scene of Avengers: Endgame, in which she sacrificed herself so Clint Barton (Jeremy Renner) could obtain the Soul Stone.

However, that wouldn't be Johansson's last appearance in the MCU, as Marvel Studios announced the development of a solo Black Widow movie, which fans have been calling for since her turn in 2012's The Avengers. WandaVision head writer Jac Schaeffer crafted the story for Black Widow with Ned Benson (The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby), with the script written by Eric Pearson (Godzilla vs. Kong). Cate Shortland (Lore) was recruited to direct Black Widow, which saw a few release delays due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It's set to hit theaters and Disney+ Premier Access on July 9, and Black Widow tickets are on sale now.

Related: Everything We Know About Black Widow

While on the set of Black Widow, Screen Rant was part of a group of reporters who spoke with Johansson about the upcoming Marvel movie. The actress teased what's to come for Natasha in the film, with the story set after the events of Captain America: Civil War. She also spoke about Natasha's relationship with new character Yelena (Florence Pugh) as well as Black Widow's evolution in the MCU.

So Yelena seems to be a key part of Natasha’s redemption arc, can you talk a little bit about that?

Scarlett Johansson: We knew that we wanted to include the Yelena character really early on. That character really transformed over the months of prep that we did and development. The character felt very… I don’t know how to say this. I guess what I would say, is that the story of two women competing against one another and trying to take each other down and dethrone one another felt, like, not interesting. It just didn’t feel like what I wanted to explore, and really what audiences want to see. It just felt very old-fashioned and not true. So taking that feeling and running with that instinct, the relationship developed into what it is, which is a relationship that is grounded in a shared experience and a knowingness and sisterhood. With that comes many complicated feelings, of course - not all good fuzzy ones, but visceral, real grounded ones. It’s a very special relationship and I think it will be very touching for a lot of people. I have a lot of empathy for that relationship and for both of those characters’ history and trauma. That shared history, as dark as it is, is what brings them together. There’s a lot of love between them, but their relationship is also contentious and everything else that comes with that sisterly relationship.

Now that we’re peeling back layers of your character, what is a part of her that you have really come to appreciate learning about her?

Scarlett Johansson: I think Natasha has a lot of compassion and that’s not necessarily a trait I would’ve, when we were making Iron Man 2 or Avengers, I necessarily would’ve [associated with her]. You’ve seen glimpses of it, and it’s developed as we’ve been able to bring the character to the forefront in different installments, but she’s a very compassionate person and that compassion is actually what drives a lot of her decision making. She’s also practical and pragmatic, but I don’t think those two things necessarily have to work against one another. That part of her really touches me.

Natasha Romanoff cries and looks down in Black Widow Movie

So did you know about Black Widow’s endgame before you started production on this installment, and how did that affect your mindset going into this film?

Scarlett Johansson: Let me think because we started talking about this film as a reality- it’s always been on the table, but I guess I just never knew what it was gonna be. It was never very clear what it could be and what the space for it was. This movie would’ve been so different if we’d made it 10 years ago. It was another time, I think we can all agree on that. Actually, as much as it’s taken this much time, I have a lot of people ask me why we didn’t do it before or now - I’m sure there’s a lot of reasons for that. But in some ways I’m actually very thankful that it’s happening now because we can actually make a movie that’s about real stuff and [that] audiences want that. I think they always wanted that, but now the studios caught up to that, which is fine. It’s late in the game, but it’s all good. Better late than never. But this movie became a reality - well more of a reality, I guess - when we were shooting Infinity War, so I did know about the character’s fate and it was helpful, of course, because it helped us know what period [this takes place in]. When we were talking about when this film would take place, that was important. And also, it was kind of nice in a way because it somehow felt like the movie didn’t have to happen, there was no pressing urgency to make it. So we made it because we wanted to, in a way, which is way better than making something because you have to.

There is a sort of sexualization with female superheroes, and even with Black Widow in the beginning, how have you seen that development change, especially with this standalone Marvel movie?

Scarlett Johansson: Yeah it definitely has changed and I think part of that change is probably - it’s hard because I’m inside it - but I think a lot of that is actually… Well it’s also from me too. I’ll be 35 years old and I’m a mom and my life is different- obviously, 10 years have passed and so much has happened. I have a much more evolved understanding of myself as a woman. I’m in a different place in my life, and I feel more forgiving of myself as a woman and, sometimes probably not enough, but I’m more accepting of myself I think. All of that is related to that move away from the hyper-sexualization of this character. So you look back at Iron Man 2 and while it was really fun and it had a lot of really great moments in it, the character is so sexualized, really talked about like she is a piece of something, like a possession - a piece of ass, really - and I think Tony even refers to her as something along those lines. … But at that time, that actually felt like a compliment, because my thinking was different, my own self-worth was probably measured against that kind of comment more, like a lot of young women probably feel. And then you come into your own and you understand your own self-worth. It’s changing now, I think a lot of young girls are getting a much more positive message. But it’s been incredible to be a part of that shift and be able to come out the other side and not just be a part of that old story, but actually evolve. It’s pretty cool.

Alexei tells Natasha and Yelena he's proud of them in Black Widow

I think it’s really cool how we see Natasha in Infinity War wearing that green vest, and how you inherit the green vest [from Yelena] here, I was just wondering if you can talk at all about how much that means to your character?

Scarlett Johansson: Well it actually is an important thing. It seems very superficial, but it actually is very unique, it’s a very meaningful thing. That’s totally a Kevin Feige thing. He loves all of that backstory stuff and things that connect characters to one another. When we designed it then, it was really just a different look for the character, but it’s fun how Kevin’s mind works in this - he’s like an imagineer in that way, where he thinks of all the little hidden things that people will give, things that are seemingly innocuous, some heart. It’s an heirloom, it becomes an heirloom in this unexpected, funny way.

Related: Who Is Red Guardian? David Harbour’s Black Widow Movie Character Explained

Speaking of the connections, can you give us your perspective on where this movie takes place - like we know it’s right after Civil War, but what does that mean for Natasha? How do we find her and where does she want to go?

Scarlett Johansson: Post-Civil War felt like a good time to start. We never intended on doing an origin story, I never wanted to do an origin story because I just didn’t want to go back that [far], I wanted to move forward- even though we are going back, but it’ll make sense when you see it. It felt like a good time because Natasha has always worked for [someone], she’s always been a part of some operation. She’s always had some safety net- I don’t know that safety net is the best way to put it, but she’s always been an operative and she’s never really had to, for better or worse, make any decisions for herself. She’s made decisions, but she’s part of this greater whole, and whether it was the Red Room or SHIELD or the Avengers, she’s had this kind of family, for better or worse. Then after Civil War, it’s all gone. Everything is gone and she’s, for the first time ever really just on her own. She could totally disappear into the ether and that would be that. She doesn’t have to return to anything, which is a pretty terrifying place to be, when you’ve been attached to something so long and now you’re suddenly floating. And obviously she’s very self-sufficient and she has connections everywhere, but she’s on the lam and she’s feeling like a fugitive. It gave us a really interesting place to start, like all the pieces are everywhere and how do we connect everything back together. When you find her in the beginning of the film, she’s just broken and by the end of the film, the goal is to put her back together, but different than before. We, Kevin and I- at the very beginning of this, we agreed that was the best place to start in the timeline. It gave us a lot of grit and every possibility. We said that if the Avengers were like above, and let’s say all the villainous characters were below - and there was some dark underground thing, even if it was Leviathan or the Red Room, all that stuff was below. For Natasha, the most interesting thing about that character is she can go between the two worlds seamlessly and her allegiance is not always so clear, she doesn’t operate with the same moral compass and that gray area is a cool place to live. So that’s where we are.

Heroines have often been called empowered stories but we’ve been demanding a lot more now of heroines and empowerment means different things to different people now. I’m just wondering what empowerment means to you, how has it changed since you started playing Natasha and how is it interpreted in this version of Natasha?

Scarlett Johansson: Well I think that goes back to the other question about the hyper-sexualization because I think actually Natasha uses her sexuality as a means to manipulate a situation and be coquettish and sly and then she’s going to take your legs out. She’s seductive in this kind of way that Iron Man 2 beginning phase, and that’s her power. Her power is in her sexuality and then that changed over time. Her strength was actually her vulnerability, that’s the place we’re in now. She is in some weird, messed up, backwards way, if any person could be truly altruistic - because nobody is obviously - but actually the act, her sacrifice was a truly altruistic offering. And I think she really sacrifices herself out of her love, she saves her friend- she saves everyone, but she saves her friend. I think that just being in that kind of head space and being able to make that decision, that selfless decision, that selfless act, is so incredibly powerful. It’s amazing that she could be in that head space to do that. So it’s been an interesting evolution and it’s been interesting to discover it with each director that I’ve worked with and what they see, what they’re interested in and what side they want to uncover. With Cate it’s just been so liberating because she’s not afraid of any of the ugliness or what is perceived to be ugliness - the embarrassing, uncomfortable parts, like the soft underbelly all that. That’s what she wants to make movies about. I hope that we see Natasha’s real true strength in this film more than ever before and I think Cate will bring that out.

Next: Who Is Taskmaster? Black Widow's Villain Comic Origin & Powers Explained

In Marvel Studios’ action-packed spy thriller “Black Widow,” Natasha Romanoff aka Black Widow confronts the darker parts of her ledger when a dangerous conspiracy with ties to her past arises. Pursued by a force that will stop at nothing to bring her down, Natasha must deal with her history as a spy and the broken relationships left in her wake long before she became an Avenger.

Scarlett Johansson reprises her role as Natasha/Black Widow, Florence Pugh stars as Yelena, David Harbour portrays Alexei/The Red Guardian, and Rachel Weisz is Melina. Directed by Cate Shortland and produced by Kevin Feige, “Black Widow”—the first film in Phase Four of the Marvel Cinematic Universe— will launch simultaneously in theaters and on Disney+ with Premier Access in most Disney+ markets on July 9, 2021.

Key Release Dates