Scarlett Johansson told the Los Angeles Times on her “Paper Tiger” press tour that she sometimes gets acting offers from major Hollywood studios that leave her questioning why the movie is even being made. The Oscar nominee’s studio output in recent years has been dominated by her role as Black Widow in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Her last Hollywood tentpole was 2025’s “Jurassic World Rebirth.”
“Am I making something that other people want to see? Is there an audience for this movie? I’m not making a movie just for me,” Johansson said about the thought process behind selecting roles. “Sometimes I get studio projects that I have to say, ‘I don’t think you should make this. I don’t know who you’re making this for. It seems irresponsible to make this.’”
While her latest release, “Paper Tiger,” is an independent drama (it was picked up by Neon shortly before its world premiere at the Cannes Film Festival earlier this year), Johansson spent much of this year shooting back-to-back studio tentpoles “The Exorcist: Martyrs” (in theaters March 12, 2027) and “The Batman 2” (Feb. 18, 2028). Next up in her production schedule is “Scapegoat,” the new movie from “Midsommar” and “Eddington” filmmaker Ari Aster. The project is backed by A24 and co-stars Jude Law.
“I don’t know what it is either,” Johansson told the Times about the movie. “I’ll have more information for you after a few weeks. The script is just so intense. It has this immediacy to it that is really different. I’ve never read anything like it before. [My husband] was like, ‘What are you reading?’ Because I kept going, ‘Oh, my God!’”
Johansson did not name which studio offers were total busts, but she has been open in previous interviews about the studio movies she desperately wanted. One such movie was Alfonso Cuarón’s “Gravity” (the role went to Sandra Bullock) and another was “Iron Man 2” (Emily Blunt originally landed the role of Black Widow but had to drop out due to scheduling conflicts). In a previous Variety interview, Johansson cited losing out on both movies as the moment she went into crisis mode as an actor.
“I got turned down for two roles — the first was ‘Iron Man 2’ and then the other one was ‘Gravity,’” Johansson said. “I had wanted that role so much. It was sort of the straw that broke the camel’s back. I felt really frustrated and hopeless. Like, ‘Am I doing the right job?’ The work I was being offered felt deeply unfulfilling. I think I was offered every Marilyn Monroe script ever. I was like, ‘Is this the end of the road creatively?’”
Johansson has long traded off major Hollywood studio movies with edgier indie fare. She’s moving into shooting Aster’s “Scapegoat” after wrapping production on the Warner Bros.-backed “The Batman 2,” her role in which remains a mystery.
“It was very hard to figure out,” Johansson told “Entertainment Tonight” earlier this month about the superhero sequel. “I don’t know why, whether it was just the role or it was just where I am in my life, but it was just hard to crack it. And that’s all I can say about it.”
