There’s hardly a role in the world that Scarlett Johansson cannot ace. From playing romantic characters in Lost In Translation to serious roles in The Girl With A Pearl Earring, and from performing dangerous stunts in Lucy to becoming one of our favourite Avengers, the actress has done it all. She’s versatile, skilled, extremely gorgeous and one of the finest divas in Hollywood at the moment. That is exactly why one might have difficulty grasping that she has faced rejection in the industry!

Scarlett made her debut in Hollywood at quite a young age. Initially, people could not look beyond her beauty and s*x appeal, but that changed quickly. She established herself as an actress by delivering excellent performances in movies like The Prestige, Her, Marriage Story, and Jojo Rabbit. One of her most iconic characters remains that of Black Widow, aka Natasha Romanoff. As strange as it sounds, she wasn’t Marvel Studio’s first choice for the role. Scroll on to learn more.

While talking to Parade Magazine once, Scarlett Johansson revealed that she was the second choice for Black Widow. Interestingly, Emily Blunt was first approached to play Natasha Romanoff, and she had to back out because of her packed schedule. During that time, she met with actor-director Jon Favreau (who played Happy in Iron Man) and said, “I was really excited to work with him, so I said, ‘If this doesn’t work out, I’m an actor for hire, so call me anytime.’” Well, something did come up, and it was Black Widow’s role in the Avengers series.

While Emily Blunt would have definitely made one amazing Avenger, we cannot unsee Scarlett Johansson as Black Widow now. Her role in the franchise made one of the highest-paid actresses in Hollywood.

While talking about the role she got by luck, the Avengers actress added, “The best call you can receive is after you are rejected for something, and then you get it. You appreciate it more. I’ve basically made a career out of being second choice.”