Get ready for a head-scratcher. Famed leaker Daniel Richtman is claiming this week that Marvel Studios is making sure Ryan Reynolds and Scarlett Johansson won’t work together in the MCU. The two stars were once married and have apparently indicated that they don’t want to share a scene for the foreseeable future. Now, it seems this may be enforced contractually, as Reynolds hopes to avoid having Deadpool and Black Widow meet on screen and Richtman says that the studio will make sure it doesn’t happen.
“RR and Scarlett are not on the best terms so Marvel will make sure they won’t meet or work together in MCU,” says the insider.”
I know what you’re thinking. Johansson’s heroine died in Avengers: Endgame and will pass the mantle to Yelena Belova (Florence Pugh) in the upcoming Black Widow, which is set between Captain America: Civil War and Avengers: Infinity War. Natasha’s death seemed final, too, so given that Deadpool isn’t expected to reappear until 2023 at the earliest, you’d think her being a rotting corpse on the other side of the universe would prevent a team-up.
Then again, with the MCU apparently set for some kind of multiversal calamity in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, Loki and Spider-Man: No Way Home, the writers at Marvel Studios seem to have been let off the leash. We’ve heard rumors of cameos from alternative versions of the Avengers, after all, so who’s to say another Natasha Romanoff couldn’t hop over from a parallel dimension?
In any case, if this story is true, it’s probably a ‘just-in-case’ clause intended to avoid any potential awkwardness. And honestly, if you’re on bad terms with an ex, it wouldn’t be pleasant to have to work alongside them.
Whatever happens, right now Scarlett Johansson’s MCU swansong will be Black Widow, which is coming out on July 9th in theaters and on Disney+. Meanwhile, Ryan Reynolds‘ R-rated Deadpool 3 is currently in development with Bob’s Burgers writers Wendy Molyneux and Lizzie Molyneux-Logelin on script duties and aiming for a summer 2023 release.
