Scarlett Johansson hopes 'Black Widow' movie is 'empowering'

Nov. 26 (UPI) -- Scarlett Johansson hopes fans find the Black Widow movie "empowering."

The 35-year-old actress said in the new issue of Vanity Fair that the film will be fun but also take on "tough" topics.

Johansson plays Natasha Romanoff, aka Black Widow, in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and will reprise the character in the new movie. In Marvel films, Black Widow is a former spy who was trained and sterilized as a young woman in the Red Room academy.

Johansson reiterated her hope that the movie elevates the superhero genre.

"The film talks about a lot of tough stuff. It deals with a lot of trauma and pain," the star said. "And I hope this film is empowering for people because I think Natasha is a very empowering person, and an inspiring person in a lot of ways.

"She has overcome so much, and she's brave. And so by elevating the genre I mean I hope that it can be both explosive and dynamic and have all that great fun stuff that goes with the genre, but I hope that we can also talk about, you know, self-doubt and insecurity and shame and disappointment and regret and all that stuff too," she added. "It has many different things, it's not just that. But there's a lot of deep stuff, I think, that drives it."

Johansson debuted as Black Widow in Iron Man 2 (2010) and has since appeared in six Marvel films, most recently Avengers: Endgame (2019). A Black Widow solo movie had been rumored for years when Marvel confirmed the film in July.

"I did not want it to be an origin story. I did not want it to be an espionage story. I didn't want it to feel superficial at all," Johansson said. "I only wanted to do it if it actually fit where I was with that character."

Johansson said on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon in October that Black Widow has brought her "closure" with the character.

Black Widow co-stars Florence Pugh, David Harbour and Rachel Weisz, and opens in theaters May 1.