Why Did Scarlett Johansson Leave Marvel?
Summary
- Scarlett Johansson's time in the MCU as Black Widow has come to an end, with her character's official exit in the solo film "Black Widow" and the torch being passed on to Florence Pugh's Yelena Belova.
- Johansson's evolving role in the MCU was thanks to the audience's reception to the Black Widow character, leading to leading roles in Avengers films and other Marvel movies.
- Despite discussions about a possible return, Johansson has stated that her time in the MCU is over and that she is now in a different place in her life, making a return unlikely.
Playing one of the founding Avengers for over a decade, Scarlett Johansson’s time in the MCU as Black Widow recently came to an end. Johansson made her debut as Natasha Romanoff in Iron Man 2 and went on to play the role a bit past her character’s death in Avengers: Endgame. She made one last appearance in Black Widow, with the solo film being the character’s official exit from the current MCU timeline. The torch has since figuratively been passed on to Natasha’s sister, Florence Pugh’s Yelena Belova, but there is no official replacement for Black Widow in the MCU as of yet.
Phase 4 saw several of the other founding Avengers leave the MCU, such as Robert Downey Jr. as Iron Man and Chris Evans as Captain America. Both of these characters had a grand send-off, but Johansson’s more understated exit left a huge impact in her own right. Black Widow ended with Natasha freeing the Widows from Dreykov’s control and mending her relationship with sister Yelena. It is a fitting conclusion to the character’s complex arc, but it also seemingly doesn’t leave much room for Johansson’s return to the MCU as Natasha in the future.
Your browser does not support the video tag. Scarlett Johansson's Marvel Contract Was Done With Black Widow 
When Johansson made her first appearance as Natasha in Iron Man 2, Marvel was still figuring out her role. According to an interview with Collider in 2015, her growing role was completely thanks to the audience's reception to the Black Widow character. Her Iron Man 2 supporting role turned into leading roles in all of the Avengers films, as well as parts in Captain America: The Winter Soldier and Captain America: Civil War that she wasn’t originally slated to star in but was included because of demand for her character.