Despite the rough legal aftermath of the theatrical-to-streaming issue with Scarlett Johansson and Disney over her solo Black Widow movie, Johansson has maintained a working relationship with Marvel Studios and Kevin Feige. Back in November of 2021, Feige teased that he and Johansson were developing a “top secret project” at Marvel that would not have any relation to her Black Widow character. Feige would stay mum on the details except for the existence of the project itself. However, there hasn’t been any update or further details released since.
With years gone by and Feige having to sort out Phase 5, especially with the shadow of the Jonathan Majors controversy looming overhead, it’s natural to assume that the project may have fallen through. According to ComicBook.com, Johansson confirms that the project is still happening. While promoting her new film Asteroid City, the Black Widow actress explained, “It is still happening. Yes.It is still happening, [but] not currently because nothing is happening right now. We’re all sort of in this holding pattern as we wait out the writers’ strike and potentially our own guild strike, and so on and so forth.”
Johannson is citing the recent news of the Screen Actors Guild also potentially going on strike when she referred to “our own guild strike.” She would add that developments on the secret project were moving forward prior to the WGA’s strike being put into effect. “Right before the strike, we were in the middle of developing it, and now everything is at a simmer,” Johansson expounds. While the strike has halted development on a multitude of films and TV shows, the projects that had finalized their scripts before the strike are still able to continue into pre-production, such as the James Gunn Superman reboot, Superman: Legacy.
When Feige broke the news about working with Johansson again, although he didn’t relay any details, he took the time to praise Johansson and her contribution to the MCU, “Scarlett has lent her talent and star power to the Marvel Cinematic Universe for over a decade. That she’s chosen to play a key part in it for so many years, I am extremely grateful for. Working with her has truly been one of the most memorable and rewarding collaborations of my career.” Johansson recently said her time at Marvel was done. However, that may more so refer to her time spent in front of the camera as Natasha Romanoff.