“I Don’t Want To Mess With That”: Scarlett Johansson Reveals Why She Doesn’t Want To Return to the MCU As Black Widow

Scarlett Johansson as Natasha-Romanoff looking to the distance in Black Widow, standing in the rubble that was once the Red Room.

Avengers: Doomsday has announced its massive cast list, featuring many Marvel stars who will be part of this superhero feature. While this upcoming Marvel movie will bring back some familiar faces like Robert Downey Jr. and Chris Evans, not everyone is invited. One of them is Scarlett Johansson, who revealed that she has no interest in reprising her role of Black Widow.

In a recent interview, Johansson stated that she isn’t going to appear in Avengers: Doomsday because it wouldn’t make sense storywise. According to her, Black Widow’s story has already ended, and she didn’t want to mess with that for the sake of the fans. While she does care about Black Widow’s story, the actress admits that she misses her Marvel co-stars.

“It would be tough for me to understand in what capacity [returning] would make sense for me, for the character that I play. I miss my buddies and really would love to be with them forever, but what works about the character is that her story is complete. I don’t want to mess with that. For fans too—it’s important for them.”

Johnasson made her Marvel debut in 2010 in the film Iron Man 2 and soon became one of the main characters in the MCU. She made her last appearance in the 2021 film Black Widow, a standalone film based on her character. Outside the MCU, Johansson has starred in many projects, such as Transformers One and Fly Me To the Moon, and is set to appear in Jurassic World: Rebirth.

Who Else Isn’t Appearing in ‘Avengers: Doomsday’?

Natasha (Scarlett Johansson) and Yelena (Florence Pugh) touch foreheads with emotion in Black Widow.

In March 2025, Marvel Studios announced its massive cast list, featuring an endless row of chairs with celebrity names on them, with Downey Jr. being the last. However, not everyone got a chair. While some of the missing cast members, like Tom Holland and Chris Pratt, have yet to be confirmed whether they’re going to be in it or not, only one has made it clear that they are not involved in the upcoming feature.

Elizabeth Olsen has confirmed that she won’t appear in Avengers: Doomsday because the film’s production clashes with other projects she signed up for. This means that we won’t see the Scarlett Witch after she died during the events of Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.

Avengers: Doomsday will enter theaters in May 2026. In the meantime, you can watch Johnasson’s last Marvel appearance, Black Widow, on Disney+.