Movies

Marvel casting director reveals Black Widow might have had very different ending if it wasn’t for Avengers’ Scarlett Johansson


What might have happened to this character? (Picture: Rex Features)

It’s to be expected the process in casting an Avengers is a pretty rigorous one, and when it comes to the likes of Scarlett Johansson, Robert Downey Jr and Chris Hemsworth, that still remains the case.

Now Marvel Studios’ casting director Sarah Finn has lifted the lid on the behind-the-scenes moments of placing some of today’s biggest action stars in their roles in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU).

While we know small bits and bobs about how certain characters came to be, such as Iron Man’s Downey Jr and Chris Pratt’s reluctance to meet with Guardians Of The Galaxy’s James Gunn, Finn has opened up on Johansson’s placement as Black Widow.

A staple of the MCU and Avengers, and having just wrapped her first standalone film, Natasha Romanoff is a main player in the universe.

However that wasn’t always going to be the case. Then Johansson came along.

The star wasn’t known for her butt-kicking prowess back in 2009 when Marvel needed a Black Widow for Iron Man 2 – but, still, she went for the role and as they say, the rest is history.

She’s a bonafide boss (Picture: Marvel)

Only thing is, Finn revealed Marvel Studios wasn’t planning on having Black Widow as the lead we know and love throughout the next six movies after that.

According to the casting director, if it wasn’t for the vision Johansson brought the character we might have only seen her in the one film – which makes her death in Endgame even more poignant now considering what might have been, right?

‘Maybe it would have just been in one or two films,’ Finn told The Hollywood Reporter.

‘But I think her take on the character was so compelling and thoughtful that it grew to where she’s really becoming a selfless leader, which is not where Natasha starts.’

Elsewhere in the revealing insight into the casting process of Marvel, Finn told how intense Tom Holland’s audition for Spider-Man was.

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The process saw the Brit actor audition six times to play Peter Parker, including screen tests with Downey Jr and meshing sessions to see if the two actors actually liked one another.

Bosses saw 2,000 kids for the part, for Spider-Man’s debut in Civil War.

Finn explained Downey was invested in the casting, seeing as Peter and Tony Stark spend so much time together.

She said: ‘He not only screen-tested with [Tom], he really spent some time with him to make sure they were comfortable and could do their best.’



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