Florence Pugh and Scarlett Johansson both had pneumonia while filming Black Widow

From Cosmopolitan

Scarlett Johansson has spoken about her upcoming film Black Widow, the long-awaited Marvel film starring Johansson alongside Florence Pugh. According to director Cate Shortland both actors eventually became ill with pneumonia, but continued shooting while sick.

In an interview with The Gentlewoman Johansson spoke with director Cate Shortland about shooting the film, revealing the tough schedule that spanned multiple locations over four months, and saw both stars continue filming despite being ill with pneumonia.

"It was like being in the army," Shortland says, adding that both Johansson and Pugh suffered pneumonia during filming.

"She’s completely unpretentious," Shortland said of Johansson, "and that makes her really fun to be around. She'll be joking with the best boy or the runner; there's no hierarchy. She appreciates people, and she makes people feel appreciated."

Fans have been waiting for Black Widow ever since Avenger's Endgame, the Marvel box office smash-hit from 2019. The film, which follows the Marvel comics character of the same name has been delayed three times from the original May 2020 as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. Now, finally we have confirmation that the film will air in theatres and on Disney+ on July 9th.

Elsewhere in the interview Johansson spoke about her initial reluctance to join the world of Marvel superheroes when it was first pitched to her by director Joss Whedon.

"Even the thought of all of us together in our superhero costumes sounded like it was going to be a disaster," she explains. "Not a disaster, but, like, What is this? What is this?"

However, she adds that it didn't take long for her to see the potential the project had, mentioning a particular scene in The Avengers that completely sold it to her.

"We’re standing in the rubble of Grand Central or whatever, of this alien onslaught, and all of us are ready, like: Here we go, this is it, and then they showed us the playback, and I think that was the moment that all of us, finally, after six months of shooting, were, "Oh, this is going to work. I think this is going to work.'"

Black Widow will be released on Disney+ on 9 July 2021.

Subscribe here to have Cosmopolitan delivered to your door.

Like this article? Sign up to our newsletter to get more articles like this delivered straight to your inbox.

You Might Also Like

• A ranking of the very best hair straighteners - according to our Beauty Editors

• Best party dresses to shop in the UK right now

• 11 products you'd be mad to miss from the Net A Porter beauty sale