14 DAY TRIAL // Word of Scarlett Johansson being interested in the part of the femme fatale in the second “Iron Man” movie has been out for quite some time, but it’s just now that several media outlets have been able to get a confirmation regarding it. Indeed, Scarlett will play Black Widow in the film, joining an already stellar cast, EW can confirm.
“Scarlett Johansson has been cast to play the Russian femme fatale Black Widow in ‘Iron Man 2,’ joining a cast that includes Robert Downey Jr., Don Cheadle, Sam Rockwell, Samuel L. Jackson, and the just-announced Mickey Rourke.” EW writes, citing well-placed sources inside the production.
If true, this would come to confirm the rumor first heard in mid-February, where Johansson was reportedly in talks to replace Emily Blunt for the part, as she had already accepted the part but was forced to back out on account of conflicting schedules.
According to reports at the time, Blunt had accepted to play the part of the Black Widow but, at the same time, had also agreed to an offer for a remake of “Gulliver’s Travels.” With “Iron Man 2” lacking a release date or one for the start of the production, it soon became obvious that Blunt would have to back down on either of the two films. Since Johansson had reportedly already expressed an interest in doing “Iron Man,” word had it that the studio was looking to replace Blunt to make the choice easier for her, as well as to avoid further complications in case she wanted to do both.
Of course, going for Johansson was somehow of an obvious choice, several movie-oriented publications are saying. For starters, she has everything it takes to make for the most tempting, dangerous femme fatale, while also bringing to her the kind of star power that works wonders for any poster. With her name next to that of Robert Downey Jr., Samuel L. Jackson and Mickey Rourke, it’s highly likely that “Iron Man 2” will fare considerably better than the first film, both with the critics and at the box-office, it has been noted.
However, that does not change the fact that Johansson might not have the maturity required to play such a challenging part, skeptics are saying. “There’s a weird inverse-quality to Johansson’s acting ability. The more grounded in reality the part and the more fleshed-out the character is on the page, the better a performance she’ll give you. But if you don’t give her much to work with, her performance will suffer. She just doesn’t have the experience (and some may argue the talent) to make something out of nothing. I’m not sure if Black Widow is a good fit for her. It has nothing to do with her looks or prior performances. It’s all about the size of the role and how much Johansson will have to work with.” Collider was saying back in February, echoing the sentiment of many fans of the movie.