Scarlett Johansson made her first appearance as Natasha Romanoff/Black Widow in IRON MAN 2 and went on to feature in THE AVENGERS, CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE WINTER SOLDIER, AVENGERS: AGE OF ULTRON, CAPTAIN AMERICA: CIVIL WAR, AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR, and the upcoming AVENGERS: ENDGAME. During this time, there had frequently been rumblings of a standalone Black Widow movie, but it didn't materialize until early last year.
With Cate Shortland (LORE) directing from a script by Jac Schaeffer (CAPTAIN MARVEL), the film is slated to kick off production in London this June, and it seems that the cast is starting to come together. Florence Pugh (FIGHTING WITH MY FAMILY) is said to be in talks to join BLACK WIDOW, and while plot details are being kept under wraps, THR says that Pugh will play "a spy on the same level as Romanoff, likely her moral opposite." This would seem to be the same role which Emma Watson (HARRY POTTER) was rumoured to be in the running for several weeks ago as Pugh was also mentioned as a possibility at the time as well. According to Variety, Pugh had been high on Marvel's list for many months, but they wanted to open up the field to other actresses as well. After receiving strong reviews for her role in FIGHTING WITH MY FAMILY, it seems that the studio has re-focused on Florence Pugh once again. As I mentioned, we don't know much about the BLACK WIDOW film at this time, but Marvel Studios president recently squashed the rumour that the film would be Marvel's first R-rated outing.
Along with FIGHTING WITH MY FAMILY, Florence Pugh has also appeared in THE COMMUTER, THE OUTLAW KING, and the BBC/AMC mini-series The Little Drummer Girl. She's also slated to star in Ari Aster's MIDSOMMAR on August 9, 2019 and Greta Gerwig's LITTLE WOMEN on December 25, 2019.