Credit: Warner BrosActress Emily Blunt says she is glad she did not land that coveted Marvel role of Black Widow, which she was offered back in 2010. While the part of Natasha Romanoff turned Scarlett Johansson into an even bigger star than she already was, Blunt seems happy about it.
In a recent appearance on the Happy Sad Confused podcast, Emily Blunt spoke about how she was the first pick for the major Marvel role, but her contractual obligation to Gulliver’s Travels (2010), a light fantasy Jack Black movie and a loose adaptation of the Jonathan Swift novel forced her to turn Black Widow down for Iron Man 2 (2010).
Instead, Scarlett Johansson was cast and would appear as the superspy character in nine major films, which have collectively grossed billions of dollars at the box office and turned the Marvel Cinematic Universe into the dominant force in commercial cinema.
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Emily Blunt Has Had Multiple Marvel Offers
According to Emily Blunt, she has no hard feelings about losing Black Widow and, in fact, is glad about it. As Blunt says, “Come on, the best girl got it.”
That is commendably fair-minded of Emily Blunt, who, to be fair, has seen her own career skyrocket at the same time as Scarlett Johansson.
However, interestingly, Emily Blunt says she has been considered for multiple roles in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, including Captain Marvel/Carol Danvers, Peggy Carter, and the Invisible Woman/Sue Storm. Those roles went to, respectively, Brie Larson, Hayley Atwell, Jessica Alba, and Kate Mara, who played versions of Storm in two different series.
That said, Blunt also says that Black Widow was the only concrete offer she has gotten from Marvel, with the others being “Rumors. Talk. Queries. That kind of thing.”
‘Fantastic Four’ No More
For years, Marvel viewers fan cast Emily Blunt and John Krasinski as Sue Storm and Reed Richards of the Fantastic Four, based at least in part on their real-life marriage.
While Krasinski ultimately appeared as Mr Fantastic in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (2022) and referenced his wife, Marvel Studios has announced the actor will not be reprising the role in the upcoming Fantastic Four movie, which makes it unlikely Emily Blunt will be showing up as the Invisible Woman.
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Tom Cruise-Emily Blunt Sequel
However, Emily Blunt has been extremely enthusiastic about making a sequel to Edge of Tomorrow (2014), her science fiction movie with Tom Cruise.
While Cruise himself seems pretty wrapped up in the Mission: Impossible franchise, Emily Blunt does say that there is a completed script for the Edge of Tomorrow sequel, and she is raring to go on it. Since she doesn’t have to worry about Marvel, hopefully, she will have time soon. Maybe she’ll even want to keep acting for it.
Would Emily Blunt have been a better Black Widow than Scarlett Johansson? Let us know in the comments!