14 DAY TRIAL // Not much is certain about “Iron Man 2” at this point, but that does not stop rumors from circulating with the highest speed ever. With no exact release or production date set yet, the sequel is already said to be about to suffer drastic changes in terms of cast. More specifically, Emily Blunt will be replaced by Scarlett Johansson as the Black Widow, EW reveals, citing unnamed sources inside the production.
Apparently, after agreeing to take on the Black Widow, Blunt also agreed to star in an adaptation of “Gulliver’s Travels,” which practically makes it impossible for her to do both films. Moreover, because of the trouble it would take to fit things in for Blunt to do both, producers have already moved on to another actress for the part in “Iron Man 2,” none other than stunner Scarlett Johansson, who had already expressed her interest in the part.
Johansson is open at the moment, sources say, but she is still in the limbo of contracts, since producers are not entirely convinced that she can pull the part off. Negotiations are currently underway to come to an understanding but, even if they do come to an advantageous conclusion, Scarlett still has to wait for Emily to officially drop the part. And this is where it gets tricky, since Blunt’s people are doing their best to keep her on “Iron Man,” but are having issues doing so precisely because the film is not clearly set in time yet.
Be that as it may, fans of the movie are none too happy about the prospect of seeing Scarlett as the Black Widow. With “Iron Man” the first faring so well with critics and at the box-office, bringing Johansson in could potentially hurt the franchise, despite being such a huge name that would look good on any poster. It’s just that she may not have what it takes to play such a dangerous character as the Black Widow is, fans are already saying on dedicated forums.
“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 also writes, echoing the sentiment.
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