"To be honest, I really didn’t know what the future would hold for the Black Widow after ‘Iron Man 2,’" reveals
Scarlett Johansson.
"I didn’t know how the fans would respond, but to be a part of the Marvel Universe and playing such a dynamic, ass-kicking character is pretty exciting. The first time you saw this character in ‘Iron Man 2,’ you didn’t get to learn much about her because she’s a bit of a slippery fish. She still has many different faces she puts on and, to this day, she still is divisive in that way. In this film, audiences will get to see more of her history and kind of shady past, which to me is very exciting because the darker part of the character was always very appealing to me."
Samuel L. Jackson had this to say about the Johansson's take on Black Widow.
"Scarlett brings a toughness and savvy that women like to see in their female characters. She is beautiful, so guys like her, but she embraces the toughness of her character and makes it seem effortless, which is very difficult to do. Guys always think, ‘I don’t care how strong a girl is, she can’t knock me out,’ but she has a bigness of character that allows her to pull off the things Black Widow does. Nick Fury has a genuine father-daughter love for Natasha that kind of transcends the job and he gives her a bit more rope than he gives most other people because of it."
"Black Widow is a fun character and I was very clear from the beginning that it was unacceptable to have an all-male Avengers team," adds director
Joss Whedon on ensuring that the superhero ensemble had a strong female presence.
"Because of the timing of the shooting schedule, there was a moment when we weren’t sure if we could get Scarlett, but I was a very happy man when she signed on because she adds so much to the film and it’s a great juxtaposition to her male counterparts. Scarlett is probably the least like her character because she’s so funny, delightful and just so darn cute. I wanted her to play the role completely opposite of her personality because we wanted Black Widow to be a darker incarnation of who she was in ‘Iron Man 2.’ You get a bit of a hint of her back-story in this film and it isn’t pretty. The great thing with Scarlett is she gets very precise about how she’s playing a character and what she’s doing with it, so it worked very well for the evolution of Black Widow."
This darker take on Black Widow is evident from the first time we see here in
The Avengers. Executive producer
Louis D' Esposito reveals the following,
"Black Widow’s introduction in the film is absolutely phenomenal. She’s tied to a chair and is being roughed up by some thugs who are interrogating her and you think that she can’t possibly get out of this situation. A cell phone rings and Black Widow gets on the phone and says, ‘I’m interrogating someone.’ It’s completely the opposite of what is going on and she hangs up the phone and takes care of business. It’s really cool and I think audiences are going to absolutely love that scene."
•Kevin Feige, Joss Whedon and Robert Downey Jr. Discuss MARVEL'S THE AVENGERS
•The Cast Of MARVEL'S THE AVENGERS Discuss Their Characters In The Superhero Ensemble
•Kevin Feige Describes THE AVENGERS As Being From Nick Fury's Point Of View
•Joss Whedon, Cobie Smulders And More Comment On Maria Hill's Place In THE AVENGERS
•Robert Downey Jr.: "If Steve Rogers And Tony Stark’s Relationship Doesn't Work, Then THE AVENGERS Doesn’t Work"
•Joss Whedon Describes Agent Coulson's "Man Crush" On Captain America In THE AVENGERS
•Robert Downey Jr. And Gwyneth Paltrow On The Return Of Pepper Potts In THE AVENGERS
•Joss Whedon And Chris Evans Discuss The First Day Of Shooting THE AVENGERS
•Joss Whedon And Jeremy Latcham On The Challenges Of Writing THE AVENGERS
•Stellan Skarsgård And Patricia Whitcher On Bringing Back Erik Selvig For THE AVENGERS
•Tom Hiddleston Talks Stunt Training And Loki's Battle With Thor On Stark Tower
STARRING:
Chris Evans as Steve Rogers/Captain America
Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark/Iron Man
Chris Hemsworth as Thor
Jeremy Renner as Clint Barton/Hawkeye
Scarlett Johansson as Natasha Ramanoff/Black Widow
Mark Ruffalo as Bruce Banner/Hulk
Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury
Clark Gregg as Agent Coulson
Cobie Smulders as Maria Hill
Tom Hiddleston as Loki
RELEASE DATE: April 26th, 2012. (UK) May 4th, 2012. (US)