Not everything in life — or movies — is black and white, there can be some gray areas, which is a big part of Scarlett Johansson‘s Black Widow character’s past.
The 36-year-old actress stars as Natasha Romanoff in the upcoming Marvel film that takes a deep dive into her background. Speaking with Entertainment Tonight about the movie, which she says is one of her “greatest accomplishments,” she elaborated on the struggles that her character is faced with.
“Natasha is really reckoning with the trauma she has faced and she’s been running away from,” Johansson shared.
“She’s been a part of a large organization for her entire life, and I think that there’s a lot of gray in that,” she said. “You’re working towards a greater goal — for better or worse — and it’s not driven by any personal desire. We’ve alluded to that — I mean, that was Thanos’ big argument, right? — and the Marvel universe has played with that idea a lot.”
“In Ultron, [it was] how many casualties for a greater good is acceptable? And Cap has always said zero. It’s been a big debate, that’s what Civil War was about,” she explained. “It’s a gray area that she had no active choice in but has felt so guilty about, and [she’s] not understood or been able to really deal with the trauma that she’s experienced because of that. And it’s Yelena who allows her to — even, like, forces her to — reflect on that, so she can move past it.”
Black Widow will hit theaters and be available on Disney+ with Premier Access on July 9.
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