Scarlett Johansson's Biggest Frustration About Playing Marvel's Black Widow Makes Total Sense

"Black Widow" star Scarlett Johansson is in no rush to return to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. While Robert Downey Jr. is happy to play a new character in the MCU now that Iron Man is dead, Johansson believes that Natasha Romanoff should rest in peace following her heroic demise in "Avengers: Endgame," and she hasn't expressed an interest in portraying a different hero or villain. Be that as it may, she is also frustrated with some of Marvel's creative decisions, which she opened up about in a conversation with Interview:

"Some of the films that I did for Marvel engaged my character more than others. Like in [Captain America: The] Winter Soldier with Chris [Evans], we were really dynamic. In some of the other films, the cast was so enormous and there was so much plot to serve that you start to feel like you're a device to move it along."

"Captain America: The Winter Soldier" sees Black Widow team up with the titular hero to stop a S.H.I.E.L.D.-orchestrated conspiracy. Johansson's character gets plenty of screen time as she and Cap get to the bottom of the case while going on the run — unlike, say, the "Avengers" flicks, in which she was part of sprawling ensembles that gave Natasha less to do. You can understand why Johansson preferred being part of the movies that placed more focus on Black Widow, but feeling like a spoke on the wheel isn't the only issue she has with Marvel projects.

For an actor, joining the Marvel Cinematic Universe is a massive commitment. The projects take months — sometimes years — to shoot and see the cast and crew travel all over the world, which sounds exhausting. What's more, the shared universe aspect of the franchise means that some actors need to play their characters in lots of movies and series, meaning that they hardly get any time to do the everyday things that normal people do. In the aforementioned interview, Scarlett Johansson admitted that the franchise's time-consuming requirements frustrated her, and they didn't always excite her as a performer. As she put it:

"'Okay. I can't paint my nails, I can't get a haircut.' These sound like silly problems, but your identity is wrapped up in this job for a long time, and if you're not doing engaging work as an actor, you feel a little cagey sometimes."

Being away from the MCU has allowed Johansson to focus on other movies, ranging from Wes Anderson's "Asteroid City" to the upcoming "Jurassic World: Rebirth." Her Marvel days appear to be over, but maybe she'll change her mind someday? After all, being a Marvel star is like being a movie gangster — just when you think you're out, the franchise pulls you back in. Robert Downey Jr. can attest to that.