Marvel’s Former CEO Wanted To Get Rid Of Scarlett Johansson’s Black Widow Because He Didn’t Believe In ‘Girl Superheroes’ & Wanted To Scale Back The Production

Marvel Studios is one of the biggest studios in the world, entertaining billions with a variety of superhero movies and shows. The Marvel Cinematic Universe consists of several male and female superheroes like Robert Downey Jr’s Iron Man, Chris Evan’s Captain America, Scarlett Johansson’s Black Widow, Mark Ruffalo’s Hulk, Chris Hemsworth’s Thor, Jeremy Renner’s Hawkeye, Elizabeth Olsen’s Scarlet Witch, Tom Holland’s Spider-Man, Brie Larson’s Captain Marvel and more.

While all these Avengers (as well as the Guardians of the Galaxy and Revengers) are much loved, did you know the studio’s former boss, Isaac Perlmutter, wanted to get rid of Scarlett’s superhero? Read on to know why he wasn’t impressed by Natasha Romanoff despite her being an expert spy and one of the best hand-to-hand combatants we’ve seen in the MCU.

Scarlett Johansson’s Black Widow was introduced into the MCU as an undercover agent in Iron Man 2. After initially playing a secretary to Gwyneth Paltrow’s Pepper Potts, Natasha Romanoff showed the world her deadly training in the film’s climax as she helped take down the bad guys. Since then, she starred in several Marvel films like The Avengers, Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Avengers: Age of Ultron, Captain America: Civil War, Avengers: Infinity War, Avengers: Endgame, and her standalone superhero film Black Widow.

Coming back to why to the topic we mentioned earlier, according to a 2017 Vanity Fair spread, Isaac Perlmutter, aka Ike, the former Marvel’s chairman and CEO – who helped rescue the Marvel Entertainment Group from bankruptcy in 1998, wasn’t keen on having female superhero merchandise. As per the article, the Toy Biz Inc. co-owner let Marvel decide on what films to make but clung to outdated views regarding its casting, budgeting, and merchandising.

A source close to Marvel Studios told the publication that Perlmutter – citing his years in the toy-making business, reportedly scaled back the production of Scarlett Johansson’s Black Widow-themed merchandise in 2015 as he believed ‘girl’ superhero products wouldn’t sell. While the production of Agent Natasha Romanoff merch may have been cut back on, the remaining OG Avengers – namely Iron Man, Captain America, Hulk, Thor, and Hawkeye, weren’t affected.

Another interesting thing to note is this: despite Black Widow first appearing in Iron Man 2, it was only after two years that Scarlett Johannson’s character’s superhero toy first hit the shelves.

Stay tuned to Koimoi for more news, updates, and interesting throwback stories from the entertainment world.

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