Shortly after Scarlett Johansson patched things up with Disney - now-former CEO Bob Chapek attempted to renege on her deal to earn a cut of Black Widow's profits by releasing the movie on Disney+ - there was talk of the actor producing a future MCU project.
Her time as Natasha Romanoff came to a definitive end in Avengers: Endgame and, after returning for that solo movie set between the events of Captain America: Civil War and Avengers: Infinity War, that really did appear to be it for Johansson.
There's been some online chatter about the MCU veteran possibly being involved with a Blonde Phantom series on Disney+ but a press release sent out by Disney confirms Johansson is executive producing Thunderbolts*.
She'll do so alongside Louis D’Esposito, Brian Chapek, and Jason Tamez. Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige is producing.
What's led to Johansson being involved with Thunderbolts*? We have no official word on that just yet but would imagine it has something to do with the presence of Florence Pugh as Yelena Belova. The trailers have positioned her as the movie's lead - similar to, say, Captain America and Iron Man in The Avengers, and Johansson may have had some creative input.
The Jurassic World: Rebirth star also produced Black Widow in 2021 and, at the time, shared high praise for Pugh. "Florence is so self-possessed. I was not that self-possessed. I actually realised, 'Wow, I have a lot of work to do on myself,' when I worked with Florence."
"She's got such a healthy ego and is in her skin. It was like, 'This is another way to be. I've got to therapise more!' "She really stands in her own shoes and is grounded, it was so impressive," Johansson continued. "She's not judging herself. I love that about her and I would love to be more like that."
Some new hi-res stills from Thunderbolts* have also been released which you can check out below - click on them for hi-res versions - along with today's new trailer.
Marvel Studios, and a crew of indie veterans, who definitely sold out, present Thunderbolts*, an irreverent team-up featuring depressed assassin Yelena Belova alongside the MCU’s least anticipated band of misfits.
Confirmed cast members for Thunderbolts* include Florence Pugh as Yelena Boleva, Sebastian Stan as Bucky Barnes, David Harbour as Red Guardian, Wyatt Russell as U.S. Agent, Hannah John-Kamen as Ghost, Olga Kurylenko as Taskmaster, and Julia Louis-Dreyfus as Valentina Allegra de Fontaine.
Geraldine Viswanathan replaced Ayo Edebiri in an undisclosed role now believed to be Songbird, while Lewis Pullman has taken over as The Sentry following Steve Yeun's unexpected departure from the movie. Both he and Edebiri are said to have left due to scheduling issues.
Written by Eric Pearson, Lee Sung Jin, and Joanna Calo, and directed by Jake Schreier, Thunderbolts* is currently set to be released in theaters on May 5, 2025.