Scarlett Johansson Discusses Black Widow's Role In CAPTAIN AMERICA: CIVIL WAR; Past Scrutiny

In one scene EW watched being filmed this summer, she and Tony Stark have a quiet moment after being given an ultimatum to bring down the rogue Cap — or else the U.S. government will do it in permanent fashion.

Stark rubs at the center of his chest, where his ARC reactor was once embedded. “You know the problem with a fully functional heart…? It’s stressful,” he tells Natasha. She’s all business: “We are painfully understaffed.”

“It’d be pretty awesome if we had a Hulk,” he tells her.

Well, that's certainly a gut-check. As many of you should know, following the events of Avengers: Age Of Ultron, the Hulk ventured off to lands unknown and will be more or less M.I.A. until the God of Thunder unearths him in 2017's Thor: Ragnarok. His decision also more or less ended his (controversial) relationship with Natasha. 

So, where is the Black Widow after all of this? Where is her head in Civil War? Johansson answers: "When we last saw her I think the stakes were astronomical. And she basically had to make this choice between [duty] and what she probably deserves. I think up until this point, she has put the hours in and is ready for..." Ready for what? To be an Avenger? Or not to be an Avenger? "You know, I don’t think she’s ever aspired to become an Avenger. That’s not really a choice that she made. It’s kind of like the events in her life led her to that point and when we see her [in Civil War], she’s finally capable of making a choice for herself. Which is kind of a milestone in someone’s life when they’ve not really participated in the decisions that were made for them. She’s finally at a place where she’s going, ‘Okay, I actually kind of know what I want. And I think I kind of deserve it." Does this mean she's ready to move on? Probably not as we all already know she's going to be back for more and kicking some serious ass come next May: "Unfortunately the events that took place … she has this kind of greater calling and this huge pull towards doing what’s right for the greater good. And she chooses that, and it’s a really heroic thing that she does, I think." 

The end of Age Of Ultron saw her taking on what seemed to be more of a co-leadership role with Cap as they assembled the New Avengers. Will we see this continue to develop in Civil War before all hell breaks loose? Eh, not quite. Johansson adds: "Yeah, I don’t know if she’s leading this team but she’s certainly, she’s — I think Natasha’s a very strategic thinker and that’s her strongpoint. Her superpowers, if you want to call them that, are her experience, her ability to make usually the right decision in a quick moment, in a tight minute. And she’s not personally invested. I mean, that’s what she tells herself anyway. And so that keeps her head kind of level and clear." Based on the relationships she's developed with her fellow Avengers throughout the course of five films, it's hard to say she's not personally invested to some extent. It should certainly be interesting to see how this plays out and whether or not we'll see her struggle with doing what is necessary versus what is right for the well-being of her friends.

After establishing a pretty solid bond with Steve Rogers in Captain America: The Winter Soldier, it should come as somewhat of a surprise that Natasha decided to side with Tony Stark in the biggest conflict in MCU history. Read what Johansson had to say about Natasha's agenda, her role as an intermediary, and her allegiances below:

Entertainment Weekly: She seems to be leaning strongly toward Iron Man’s side of things.

Scarlett Johansson: I think when you find her in Civil War, she’s looking to strategize her position, putting herself in a place where she is able to let the powers that be fight it out or whatever amongst themselves. She’s always a little bit on the perimeter so she can have a better perspective of what’s really going on.

EW: Divide and conquer?

SJ: She’s never been one to divide and conquer. I don’t think that’s her. She’s seen that and it never works. She would see this as a kind of, it’s more complicated than picking sides, you know?

EW: In the scenes you shot today, is she angry at Cap over what he’s done, the way Tony is?

SJ: You know, I think she understands where everyone is coming from. And none of it really matters to her, you know? There’s a bigger problem at hand and she’s, I think, strangely, kind of the mediator. Which is not exactly how you would imagine her to be. But I think she really does see both sides of the coin and I think her strength is that she’s not personally involved.

EW: Kind of like that party scene in Ultron where she doesn’t feel the need to demonstrate strength or purity by trying to lift Thor’s hammer? She’s not out to prove anything to others?

SJ: [Laughs] Yeah, I think she knows what her strengths are, and I think she has the ability to be a leader of sorts, but she works well in a team.

As for her relationship with Bruce Banner, it seems as though everything there has been put on the backburner for the time being as Johansson admits that while there are references to their past romance, "There is little room for romance in Civil War." Well, with everything that was going on in the jam-packed trailer with a lot more left under wraps, that should come as no surprise. Johansson also shares that Natasha understands why Bruce did what he did and that she won't be taking it personally at all, especially with everything else that's going on. "I think she’s just, it’s not the right time. It’s one of those things where you think of the person with a lot of fondness. You keep that in a warm place in your heart for them. It would have been very easy for us to take that and turn it into bitterness in this film and have her be reactive. But that would be out of character, I think."

As for the future of the Black Widow, Johansson hopes to see Natasha continue to grow and develop all these new and different layers for her character as Infinity War approaches. As for Civil War, "I think you'll see her coming into her own in this story." This should be fun to see and based on Johansson getting top billing alongside Chris Evans & Robert Downey Jr. when they trailer premiered on Jimmy Kimmel Live! last week, it's probably safe to assume that we're going to see a heavy Black Widow presence in Civil War versus Age Of Ultron, which saw her screentime cut short due to her pregnancy. 

To cap off the revealing interview, Johansson responded to what she thinks and how she feels about all of the warranted and unwarranted scrutiny her character seems to get:

EW: What are your feelings about the scrutiny Widow’s stories get?

SJ: You know, I’m happy that people scrutinize the Widow’s storylines and care about it and are invested. I’d much rather it be like that than have a kind of “meh” reaction. For me to have people say that would be, ouch, you know? Everything that I’ve done with the Widow, to me makes sense. It’s in line with active decisions that I’ve made for the character. I’ve been able to develop this character very closely with Joss and [Civil War directors Joe and Anthony Russo].

EW: So when people get fired up, you’re like, all right, we pushed some buttons?

SJ: Yes, of course! That’s better than the mediocre reaction, definitely. We expect that. The character is so beloved. You can only hope that people are going have opinions about it, you know? She somehow ends up always on top, even if you’re not always in agreement with how she gets there.

“Captain America: Civil War” picks up where “Avengers: Age of Ultron” left off, as Steve Rogers leads the new team of Avengers in their continued efforts to safeguard humanity. After another international incident involving the Avengers results in collateral damage, political pressure mounts to install a system of accountability and a governing body to determine when to enlist the services of the team. The new status quo fractures the Avengers while they try to protect the world from a new and nefarious villain.