Now people, young girls, are getting a positive message, but it’s been incredible to be a part of that shift and be able to come out the other side and be a part of that old story, but also progress. Maybe my self-worth was measured against that type of comment or, like a lot of young women, you come into your own and you understand your self-worth. “Yeah and at one point calls her a piece of meat and maybe at that time that actually felt like a compliment. Referring to a scene when Black Widow knocks out Tony Stark/Iron Man’s (Downey Jr) right-hand man Happy Hogan (played by director Jon Favreau) in the boxing ring with an impressed tycoon later telling Gwyneth Paltrow’s Pepper Potts, “I want one”, Johansson said maybe that felt like a compliment but not so much now. The actor said her character is talked about in Iron Man 2 like “she’s a piece of something, like a possession or a thing or whatever like a piece of a**, really.” All of that is related to that move away from the kind of hyper-sexualisation of this character and, I mean, you look back at Iron Man 2 and while it was really fun and had a lot of great moments in it, the character is so sexualised.” And I felt more forgiving of myself, as a woman, and not sometimes probably not enough. “As a woman, I’m in a different place in my life. Obviously, 10 years have passed and things have happened and I have a much different, more evolved understanding of myself,” Johansson told Collider in an interview. I’ll be 35 years old and I’m a mom and my life is different. “It definitely has changed and part of that change is hard because I’m inside it, but probably a lot of that is actually from me too. Talking about the character’s journey, the Oscar-nominated actor reflected on the changes that have come with time for Black Widow aka Natasha Romanoff, a highly trained former KGB assassin, who becomes an Avenger later. Johansson, 35, made her debut as Black Widow in the Robert Downey Jr-starrer Iron Man 2, in 2010 and 11 years later the superhero is getting a solo outing in July this year.
Scarlett said: "This movie became more of a reality, I guess, when we were shooting Avengers: Infinity War, so I did know about the character's fate.Hollywood star Scarlett Johansson, who is getting a stand-alone movie in the Marvel Cinematic Universe with Black Widow, is happy that the character has undergone a transformation from its early days of “hyper-sexualisation”. I think it's pretty cool."īlack Widow - which is released in cinemas on July 9 - is set prior to Scarlett's character being killed off in Avengers: Endgame but the Jojo Rabbit actress insists that her alter ego's fate did not alter her mindset during the project. "Now people, 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 be a part of that old story, but also progress.
Maybe I even would have, you know, my own self-worth was probably measured against that type of comment or, like a lot of young women, you come into your own and you understand your own self-worth. I'm more accepting of myself, I think.Ī post shared by Marvel Entertainment her discussion about Tony's line in the Iron Man 2 script with, she said: "Because my thinking was different. As a woman, I'm in a different place in my life, you know? And I felt more forgiving of myself, as a woman, and not - sometimes probably not enough. The 36-year-old actress has played the role of Natasha Romanoff/Black Widow in the Marvel Cinematic Universe for more than a decade after making her debut as the character in 2010 film Iron Man 2.Īnd Scarlett - who reprises the role for a seventh time in upcoming film Black Widow - is pleased that the way the character is treated and portrayed on screen has evolved since that first cinematic appearance, which featured Robert Downey Jr's Tony Stark talking about Romanoff as a "piece of a**".ĭiscussing how her own maturing as a woman has affected the portrayal of the character, she said: "Obviously, 10 years have passed and things have happened and I have a much different, more evolved understanding of myself. Scarlett Johansson is grateful her Marvel alter ego Natasha Romanoff is no longer "hyper-sexualised".