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Outbyte Driver Updater FREEFix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitchesFind Drivers →Outbyte PC Repair FREEClear out junk files and repair common Windows errorsFree Scan →Scarlett Johansson became the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s Natasha Romanoff, but other performers could have brought compelling alternatives to the role. Emily Blunt is the best-supported actor reported to have come close to playing Black Widow. The available evidence does not establish five near-cast contenders, so this article separates ten subjective casting ideas from the documented casting history.
What Black Widow asks of an actor
Natasha Romanoff is more than a convincing fighter: she is a spy whose guarded manner sits alongside complicated loyalties and personal vulnerability. Disney describes Black Widow as a spy thriller in which Natasha confronts a conspiracy tied to her past and relationships she left broken. Its feature coverage also highlights Natasha’s relationship with Yelena and the cast’s action training. Those elements make a useful lens for imagining alternate casting—not proof that any particular actor was considered.
Johansson is the performer associated with Natasha in Disney’s official film materials. The ten names below are counterfactual suggestions, not a ranking or a claim about Marvel’s casting process. Each is an argument about the kind of performance an actor might have brought to the role.
10 stars who could have played Black Widow
1. Charlize Theron
Theron could plausibly balance controlled physicality with emotional restraint. Her presence might have made Natasha seem especially formidable, while her ability to suggest an inner life beneath a composed exterior suits a character carrying a difficult past. This is an imagined fit, not a reported casting possibility.
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#1 Best Overall
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2. Emily Blunt
Blunt’s range could have supported both the dry wit and the guarded vulnerability in Natasha’s persona. Her name also belongs in the casting-history discussion below, but the case here is an opinion about the kind of performance she might have delivered—not a claim that the role was hers to lose.
3. Rebecca Ferguson
Ferguson could have leaned into Natasha’s espionage skills and moral ambiguity, giving the character a cool, observant edge. She might also have made moments of trust feel hard-won, a useful contrast to the character’s competence in the field.
4. Jessica Chastain
Chastain could have emphasized the tension between a professional operative and a person trying to reckon with past choices. Her version might have placed particular weight on Natasha’s intelligence and on the cost of maintaining a convincing cover.
Rank #2
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5. Gugu Mbatha-Raw
Mbatha-Raw could have brought a measured warmth to a character who rarely shows it openly. That contrast might have made Natasha’s connections—and her reluctance to rely on them—feel especially revealing.
6. Ruth Negga
Negga could have offered an intense, inward interpretation of Natasha, with a strong focus on what the character chooses not to say. That approach could suit a spy story where shifting alliances and personal history matter as much as action.
7. Hayley Atwell
Atwell’s screen presence could have made Natasha feel assured and capable without reducing her to a fighter. An alternative version might have drawn more attention to the character’s wit and her ability to read people in a room.
Rank #3
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8. Vanessa Kirby
Kirby could have brought a sharper, more unpredictable energy to the role. That might have made Natasha’s shifting balance between self-preservation and loyalty particularly compelling.
9. Kate Beckinsale
Beckinsale could have made the physical demands of the role feel natural while keeping the character’s emotional history in view. Her interpretation might have tilted toward a more overtly battle-tested Natasha.
10. Thandiwe Newton
Newton could have offered a composed, perceptive take on a character who has to control what others see. Her version might have foregrounded Natasha’s ability to assess a situation—and the personal distance that skill can create.
Rank #4
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Who almost played Black Widow?
Emily Blunt is the clearest documented near-cast case here
Blunt is the strongest supported answer in the available accounts. In a May 11, 2021 interview with Howard Stern, she explained that a studio commitment prevented her from taking the role. The interview report presents the part as having first been offered to her, and quotes Blunt saying she wanted to “clean up the story” about why she turned it down. The Howard Stern Show’s interview report is her account of the circumstances.
In a retrospective account reported by The Independent on May 6, 2020, Johansson recalled that Blunt had been chosen first and declined before Johansson continued the conversation about the role. That account supports describing Blunt as someone who nearly played Natasha, while remaining a recollection attributed to Johansson rather than a studio casting record.
Descriptions of Blunt’s casting stage are not uniform: a 2019 TIME roundup says she auditioned, while the other accounts describe an offer or an initial choice. TIME’s roundup is secondary reporting. Taken together, these sources support saying Blunt was reported as an early choice who declined—not asserting that she signed on or was formally cast.
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Why the list stops at one verified near-cast name
The available attributable material does not substantiate four more actresses as actual contenders. A fan-casting suggestion or an actor who seems suited to the part is not evidence that Marvel considered them. The ten alternatives above are explicitly opinion; Blunt’s near-casting is a separate, attributed historical claim.
Quick Recap
Sources for the character and casting context
- Disney/Marvel’s official Black Widow press kit describes the film’s premise and credits.
- Disney’s set-visit feature discusses Johansson and Florence Pugh, Natasha and Yelena’s relationship, and the cast’s action training.
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