Scarlett Johansson reveals why one Black Widow costume idea was 'quickly killed'
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Black Widow has gone through a big evolution since she first hit the big screen in 2010's Iron Man 2, going from undercover femme fatale SHIELD agent to self-sacrificing, heroic Avenger. And as the character has evolved through the many films in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, her costumes have evolved with her.
2014's Captain America: Winter Soldier was the first time Natasha Romanoff moved beyond the wardrobe of black tactical suits and started to sport more comfortable civilian clothing, such as a brown leather jacket and a striped khaki hoodie. But in a new interview with Fatherly, Scarlet Johansson revealed that those comfy looks almost looked very different.
"At the time, Marvel was interested in the character being a shape-shifter," Johansson revealed. "When we were doing Captain America: The Winter Soldier — this is a really funny thing — the look is fantastic and utilitarian. She first drives up in this beautiful car and picks up Cap, and initially in the script, it was like, she arrives in her tennis whites, with a blonde wig. It was very quickly killed."
Zade Rosenthal Scarlett Johansson Captain America Winter Soldier
In the final cut, the scene that Johansson is referring to — her character's introduction where drives up to Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) and Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie) and jokes about looking for a "fossil" — the character ended up in a sleek leather jacket more in line with her style and personality, as well as her trademark red hair. Johansson attributed axing the blonde tennis outfit look to the fact that the world was starting to experience a cultural shift towards how they viewed female superheroes.
"You work with a lot of male writers. Things were shifting. You have to be a part of the change," she explained. "Audiences are also demanding stuff, and there's a cultural shift and it feeds everything into a more progressive direction. It's been a process — it's been a process."
She also credited the evolution of her looks to "gaining the trust of the executives at Marvel and kind of sitting in the character and just being able to make decisions for her," which she added happened "fairly early on."
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