Back before the filming of Iron Man 2, in the still fledgling youth of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Scarlett Johansson was cast as Black Widow, and went on to have an incredible run as the super spy, even garnering her own solo movie (which will hopefully still be released this November). However, she wasn’t Marvel’s first choice. It’s a well known fact the Emily Blunt was in discussions first to take the role, but ultimately turned it down due to filming conflicts with Fox’s Gulliver Travels. Now, hindsight is 20/20 and I’m sure that Blunt would have preferred to drop out of that bomb to take on this iconic role, but it wasn’t meant to be. However, that’s not stopping fans from creating a DeepFake ‘what might have been’ video, overlaying Blunt’s face on Johansson’s for what is an interesting, albeit disturbing, video.
YouTuber Shamook has taken several clips of Black Widow over the course of her tenure in the MCU and placed Blunt’s face over Johansson’s. Now, the voice in the video in still Scarlett’s, and in some of the scenes the face doesn’t quite fit right, but all in all it gives fans at least a morsel of what we might have received had Blunt taken the role.
Ultimately, fans got the best option possible, as Johansson really made the role her own, and breathed far more life into it than anyone expected. Whilst Emily is a fantastic actress, she may not have brought what Scarlett brought to it. And, both her husband, John Krasinski, and herself have said that they’re glad they didn’t get the roles in the MCU at the time (John was up for Captain America at one point), as it would have dominated their schedule and kept them from other projects that they thoroughly enjoyed.
The couple may still end up in the MCU, as their names are atop the list for the MCU version of the Fantastic Four as Mr. Fantastic and Invisible Woman. Hopefully that comes to fruition and Blunt finally gets her spot in the MCU.
Would you have preferred seeing Emily Blunt as Black Widow? Let us know in the comments below!