Emily Blunt. Scarlett Johansson. Both very capable actresses, of course - two of the very best of their generation, even. But there can only be one Black Widow. And it was Scarlett Johansson who ultimately ended up with the role in Iron Man 2, which has since led her to reprising the character of Natasha Romanoff in a subsequent five ventures. Very lucrative, hm? And yet Scarlett Johansson wasn't Marvel's original choice for the role; they actually wanted British actress Emily Blunt to play Black Widow - and she wanted in, too. Sadly, though, it has been reported that Blunt was forced to turn down the part in order to fulfil a contract with 20th Century Fox, who wanted her to star opposite Jack Black in Gulliver's Travels. And she did. And it was terrible. A shame, given that you can certainly imagine her pulling off a role like Black Widow with gusto. Especially after her recent turn in Sicario (wow).
Sam Hill is an ardent cinephile and has been writing about film professionally since 2008. He harbours a particular fondness for western and sci-fi movies.
