Scarlett Johansson on Black Widow: Hopefully, it's unexpected

Scarlett Johansson loves old-school spy thrillers but did not want Black Widow to be delivering just exactly what is expected out of the film. As the film nears release, Scarlett is hopeful that they managed to pull off an "unexpected" solo outing for Marvel hero, Black Widow.

New York: Actor Scarlett Johansson's Black Widow is back from the dead for her first lead role. The movie - the first solo outing for Johansson's Avengers character - will be released in cinemas worldwide from July 9, 2021, after its initial release date of May 2020 was pushed back three times due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

Black Widow is set after the events of 2016's Captain America: Civil War - years before the title character makes the ultimate sacrifice and - spoiler alert - commits suicide in order to save the universe in Avengers: Endgame (2019).

The film sees Natasha Romanov (aka Black Widow) confront her KGB past when a dangerous conspiracy arises, forcing her to question who her friends really are and examine the events that led up to her becoming an Avenger.

"I didn't want it to be an espionage film," said Johansson, who first appeared as Romanov in Iron Man 2. "There were a lot of things I didn't want it to be. But if I just think about, like, the broad what is this? What's expected? I think it probably would have been a sort of espionage film, sort of similar to some of the kind of like Bond. I love those films but like a kind of old school spy thriller. And I just didn't want it to be that at all. I think we avoided that, you know, I didn't want it to be, yeah, something I think that was expected. And hopefully, it's unexpected."

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Starring opposite Johansson is British actor Florence Pugh, who plays Yelena Belova - a fellow assassin. After making her name in critically acclaimed indie hits like Lady Macbeth, Fighting with My Family and Midsommar, Pugh was taken aback by the sheer scale of the Marvel machine.

Pugh isn't the only British newcomer to the Marvel Cinematic Universe in Black Widow. Also joining the ranks are actors O-T Fagbenle, who plays Rick Mason - a former S.H.I.E.L.D. employee who is romantically interested in Romanov - Rachel Weisz and Ray Winstone.

Black Widow, which also stars David Harbour, is due to be released in theaters in the U.S. on July 9, at the same time as it drops on Disney+.