Scarlett Johansson aka The Black Widow spoke with Entertainment Weekly on the “Captain America : Civil War.” During the interview Johansson spoke about her character’s motivation going into the massive movie as well as the heated debate that surged around her character’s plotline in “Age of Ultron.”
Via: CBR
“Captain America: Civil War” will see Black Widow side with Iron Man (“at least for a while,” the article notes) in an attempt to get “enhanced individuals” to work with the government, thus putting her at odds with her former partner Captain America. Johansson said that “Civil War” finds her character in totally uncharted territory when it comes to her personal life.
“You know, I don’t think she’s ever aspired to become an Avenger,” said Johansson of her character, who was trained from childhood to be an assassin. “That’s not really a choice that she made. It’s kind of like the events in her life led her to that point and when we see her [in ‘Civil War’], she’s finally capable of making a choice for herself. Which is kind of a milestone in someone’s life when they’ve not really participated in the decisions that were made for them.” Johansson adds that Natasha Romanoff has “kind of greater calling and this huge pull towards doing what’s right for the greater good. And she chooses that, and it’s a really heroic thing that she does, I think.”
She elaborated on Widow’s position, saying that “she understands where everyone is coming from. And none of it really matters to her, you know? There’s a bigger problem at hand and she’s, I think, strangely, kind of the mediator. Which is not exactly how you would imagine her to be. But I think she really does see both sides of the coin and I think her strength is that she’s not personally involved.”
Johansson also addressed the controversy surrounding her character’s arc in “Age of Ultron,” which saw the Avenger contemplate — and initiate — a romance with Bruce Banner. The film ends with the Hulk abruptly leaving the Avengers, but Johansson doesn’t think the Widow’s that upset about it.
“Certainly she’s not going to be the person to chastise someone who’s not ready to open up. I don’t think she’s taking it personally,” she said. “You keep that in a warm place in your heart for them. It would have been very easy for us to take that and turn it into bitterness in this film and have her be reactive. But that would be out of character, I think.” She added that there is “little room for romance in ‘Civil War.'”
Regarding the scrutiny that storyline saw, which Johansson mentions she “had a lot of conversations with [‘Age of Ultron’ writer/director] Joss [Whedon] about,” the actress says that she’s “happy that people scrutinize the Widow’s storylines and care about it and are invested. I’d much rather it be like that than have a kind of ‘meh’ reaction. For me to have people say that would be, ouch, you know? Everything that I’ve done with the Widow, to me makes sense. It’s in line with active decisions that I’ve made for the character. I’ve been able to develop this character very closely with Joss and [‘Civil War’ directors Joe and Anthony Russo].”
Black Widow returns in “Captain America: Civil War,” which opens on May 6, 2016.
