Scarlett Johansson Reveals Why Her Thunderbolts Producer Credit Was Removed

Scarlett Johansson revealed why her Thunderbolts executive producer credit had been removed from the film. 

The actress, 40 – who recently resembled Marilyn Monroe on set of an upcoming ‘gritty’ Russian mafia movie – opened up about the topic while talking to David Harbour for Interview Magazine. 

The Stranger Things actor took on the role of Red Guardian in the latest Marvel project – alongside other stars such as Florence Pugh, Lewis Pullman and Sebastian Stan. 

Johansson and Harbour’s conversation took place on opening day of Thunderbolts and David asked the beauty if she had already seen the movie. 

Scarlett – who is known for portraying Black Widow in the Marvel franchise – replied with, ‘No.’ 

‘Okay. You are an executive producer on it. Congratulations,’ he added, to which she explained, ‘I asked to have my credit removed because I wasn’t involved.’ 

Scarlett Johansson, 40, revealed why her Thunderbolts executive producer credit had been removed from the film; seen in April in NYC 

‘Okay. You are an executive producer on it. Congratulations,’ he added, to which she explained, ‘I asked to have my credit removed because I wasn’t involved’

David then jokingly quipped, ‘You hated the movie that much?’ which prompted Johansson to add, ‘No, you’re just wanting that to be the case.’

The Oscar-nominated actress then stated that she was ‘proud’ of Harbour as well as the cast of Thunderbolts. 

The superhero film – which was directed by Jake Schreier – officially hit theaters last month on May 2, and raked in $376.8 million in the box office on a budget of $180 million. 

Scarlett later reflected on her time starring in Marvel movies such as Iron Man 2 (2010), The Avengers (2012), Avengers: Endgame (2019), and Black Widow (2021). 

However, while talking about the plot of some films, the star stated that sometimes characters simply felt like ‘a device to move it along.’ 

‘Some of the films that I did for Marvel engaged my character more than others. Like in Captain America: Winter Soldier with Chris Evans, we were really dynamic.’ 

Johannsson continued, ‘In some of the other films, the cast was so enormous and there was so much plot to serve that you start to feel like you’re a device to move it along.

‘And if you’re committed to five and a half months of that, it’s like, “Okay. I can’t paint my nails, I can’t get a haircut.”‘

David then jokingly quipped, ‘You hated the movie that much?’ which prompted Johansson to add, ‘No, you’re just wanting that to be the case’

However, while talking about the plot of some films, the star stated that sometimes characters simply felt like ‘a device to move it along’; seen above as Black Widow in The Avengers (2012)

Scarlett further explained that ‘your identity is wrapped up in this job for a long time, and if you’re not doing engaging work as an actor, you feel a little cagey sometimes.’

During a recent interview with Vanity Fair, the actress labeled The Avengers (2012) a ‘mess’ – despite garnering a whopping $1 billion in the box office. 

‘When we made the first Avengers, none of us knew what the potential would be. Iron Man was massively successful. It was huge; it built the studio of Marvel. And then Iron Man 2 was also very successful,’ the star told the outlet. 

‘There was Thor, and that character felt like it was from a completely different universe… It was such a different tone [from] the Iron Man movies. And then, of course, the Captain America movie had its whole own identity as well.’

Johansson added, ‘And then when you added the characters all together, plus Hulk and Hawkeye, it just felt like a big mess, to be honest. Even on the set, it felt crazy, because we all looked insane. It was like, “What are we doing?”‘ 

The Lost In Translation actress then admitted, ‘I don’t think anybody knew if it was gonna work or not. 

‘[Marvel Studios president] Kevin Feige knew it was gonna work; Joss Whedon knew it was gonna work. But the cast… it was blind faith, basically, that we all had in Joss and Kevin Feige.’ 

But after filming the iconic Battle of New York scene, Scarlett shared that the cast changed their opinion and said, ‘It felt powerful.’ 

During a recent interview with Vanity Fair, the actress labeled The Avengers (2012) a ‘mess’ – despite garnering a whopping $1 billion in the box office; seen in May in Mexico City 

Last month in May while also talking to Vanity Fair, Johansson got candid about her future with Marvel films. 

Avengers: Doomsday is slated to hit theaters next year in 2026, but the actress stated that she will not appear in the movie. 

‘It would be very hard for me to understand in what capacity [returning] would make sense for me, for the character that I play,’ she explained. 

‘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.’ 

Back in 2021, she notably settled a lawsuit with Disney after she sued the company for an alleged breach of contract by offering Black Widow on streaming at the same it played in theaters. 

‘It would be very hard for me to understand in what capacity [returning] would make sense for me, for the character that I play,’ she explained

While Scarlett doesn’t have plans to return to the MCU, she has been keeping busy and took on a role in the upcoming film Jurassic World Rebirth (seen above)

While Scarlett doesn’t have plans to return to the MCU, she has been keeping busy and took on a role in the upcoming film Jurassic World Rebirth. 

The movie – which also stars Jonathan Bailey and Luna Blaise – will premiere in theaters later this summer on July 2. 

During an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, the actress talked about being cast in the Jurassic Park franchise and said it was ‘unbelievable.’ 

‘I’ve been trying to get into a Jurassic movie for, I don’t know, 15 years or something. I was so stoked that it all came together.’