Emily Blunt was Marvel Studios' first choice to play now have to wait even longer to see.
Prior to ing the MCU, Johansson's profile began to rise after appearing in such films as Lost in Translation, The Island, and The Prestige, but that didn't make her the frontrunner for Black Widow's part. When Marvel Studios was casting the role initially, they looked at many different rising actresses to take on the hero. The top choice for the studio was Emily Blunt, who was only a few years removed from appearing in The Devil Wears Prada. She was reported to be in talks to play Black Widow in early 2009 but was then replaced by Johansson just a few months later. So what happened?
When Blunt originally signed on to appear in The Devil Wears Prada, her contract with Fox included an option that the studio could exercise to put her in one of their other projects. Fox waited a few years to make use of this option, though, as they wanted Blunt to star opposite Jack Black in Gulliver's Travels. This decision came while Blunt was also in negotiations to play Black Widow in Iron Man 2 and created a scheduling conflict for the actress. Although Blunt and her team tried to make it work, it became impossible for her to be in both movies and Gulliver's Travels took precedence because of her pre-existing deal. With Blunt no longer in the running, Marvel turned to Johansson again (as she originally screen-tested for the role) and brought her aboard the MCU.
Missing out on the role of Black Widow has proven to be quite the missed opportunity for Blunt. Gulliver's Travels did her no favors as it was critically panned and only made $237 million worldwide on a $112 million budget. Even though Iron Man 2 is usually linked to MCU movies and characters.
The good news for Blunt is that she's managed to shake off the MCU and make quite the career for herself anyway. She starred in Rian Johnson's Mary Poppins Returns. So, even though Blunt missed out on a career-altering role because of studio contracts, she's managed to build an impressive career and Johansson proved to be a perfect Black Widow in the MCU.
