At least one member of the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s original Avengers lineup won’t be coming back anytime soon — not if Scarlett Johansson has anything to say about it.
In an interview with InStyle published Tuesday, Johansson insisted that Marvel fans need to let go of Natasha Romanoff, a.k.a Black Widow, the MCU hero she played onscreen for 11 years. Natasha famously sacrificed her life in 2019’s “Avengers: Endgame.” While Johansson subsequently reprised the role in 2021’s “Black Widow,” a prequel set years before “Endgame,” she has no plans of undoing her character’s tragic, heroic death.
“Natasha is dead. She is dead. She’s dead. OK?” Johansson exasperatedly told InStyle, noting that Marvel fans remain convinced that she is going to return to the MCU at some point. “They just don’t want to believe it. They’re like, ‘But she could come back!’”
Ultimately, Johansson said she thinks the weight of her character’s death in “Avengers: Endgame” is too important to undo. “I think the balance of the entire universe is held in her hand. We’re going to have to let it go,” the actress explained. “She saved the world. Let her have her hero moment.”
Johansson’s comments came at a time when several of her fellow original MCU stars are expected to come back to the blockbuster franchise. TheWrap broke the news last year that Chris Evans will reprise his role as Steve Rogers/Captain America in 2026’s Russo Brothers-directed “Avengers: Doomsday.” Marvel, meanwhile, announced last year that Robert Downey Jr. has signed on to play his second MCU character, the villainous Victor Von Doom.
Downey Jr.’s potential reprisal of Tony Stark/Iron Man, who also canonically died in “Avengers: Endgame,” doesn’t seem entirely off the table right now, either.
Johansson does not seem interested in following the same path as Downey Jr. and Evans. The actress, to her credit, has not had a hard time staying busy in the years since she hung up her Marvel hat. In addition to starring in non-franchise movies like Wes Anderson’s “Asteroid City” and Apple’s “Fly Me to the Moon,” Johansson has also had roles in popular animated films like “Transformers One” and is set to lead this summer’s “Jurassic World: Rebirth.”
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