Captain Marvel and WandaVision have been positive steps for female representation within the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but it’s been a long road to get here. No one knows that better than Scarlett Johansson, who is only now getting a solo origin film for her character Black Widow 11 years after stepping into the role.
Despite never having a film to call her own, Black Widow has been a constant across seven movies in the MCU (as well as a cameo after Captain Marvel). She was initially introduced as eye candy for Tony Stark, became a failed love interest for Bruce Banner and then held her own as the only female Avenger for some time.
Over the years, the character of Black Widow has shed her stereotypical sexist connotations to become a hero everyone can look up to and fans will finally get to see that when Black Widow releases on July 9.
In an interview with Time, Marvel Studios’ Executive Vice President of Production Victoria Alonso discussed the difficulties of creating female-fronted action films.
Alonso, who is also a producer on Marvel’s Black Widow, said it was an uphill battle to get females front and center due to the myth that “women’s stories don’t sell” in Hollywood:
“There was always a myth that women’s stories don’t sell. That superheroes can’t be women. We had to demystify a bunch of these myths that were very much a part of what Hollywood was all about.”
Black Widow was the first major female superhero to appear in the MCU, but she started off as simply a “chess piece”, according to actress Scarlett Johansson:
“In the beginning she was used as a kind of chess piece for her male counterparts.”
