"Eesh. I don't know why Marvel is determined to cheapskate its way across Hollywood"

Why not. They do it everywhere else. You know after shooting themselves in the foot over and over again they have to run out of toes eventually right? ... RIGHT? Ah screw it. This is why I switched to small name comics.

I do like that their cheapskate tatics still mean more money for people then most of all the people here will ever see.

And Scarlett is lucky she is in anything, not what I would put as a great actress, I would have liked Blunt better but thats just me.

At this point nothing disappoints me when it comes to comic book movies. We live in a world where Tank Girl and Howard the Duck got movies before Spider-Man. Think about it . . .

It's time to make an on-line petition campaign again.

We WANT Blunt in IM2!!!

The Black Widow character has never really interested me apart from her connections to Iron Man and Hawkeye, so signing Johannsen for the role over the infinitely more attractive Miss Blunt pretty much torpedoes any enthusiasm on my part.

Here's an idea, Marvel: Hire a real Russian actess to play Black Widow! Duh!

This is a win win regardless of what nerds may think. I have no clue who Emily Blunt is, but I do know who Scarlett Johannson is. So even though I don't give a damn about the Black Widow, I think her name attracts more movie goers than Blunt.

Plus maybe there will be some girl on girl action between Pepper Potts and the Black Widow. I would dig that.

The Mickey Rourke deal makes sense since he will die in the movie and he is awesome!

Plus maybe there will be some girl on girl action between Pepper Potts and the Black Widow.

In your dreams, loser.

I am so confused by this. Scarlett Johaneson is one of the most attractive people in the world. And I would think all you boy nerds would be worshipping at the alter of her body. Also, she is not a bad actress at all. She might have been in some badly written roles, but she excels in all those Woody Allen films which are all excellently written. Emily Blunt is plain and and can look like a boy, and the only thing she's ever been in is a supporting role in the devil wears prada. Which i'm sure you all sure, just for Emily Blunt, right? Also, i'm a girl if that makes a difference.

@ Templar - Ouch. You really need to get out of your grandma's basement more often. It was a joke. Do take it so literally.

@Dhanya - I agree. Blunt looks like a man.

Why would anyone complain about the money these people are paid to be in movies? No one forces the actor(s) to sign the contracts. If Marvel can get them for less, then do it! It's a wise financial decision.
By the way, who is this Emily Blunt? Until the IM2 rumor mill started churning, I never even heard of her?

Honestly, I'm not entirely sure that it's necessary for the Black Widow to have a Russian accent. I've seldom seen her written - in recent years, at least - as though she speaks in any distinctly Russian manner. And as a spy, it would be in her best interest to lose the accent. So it would make sense to me to have her sound generically American, with maybe some offhand reference to honing her American accent in spy school, and maybe have her speak in Russian at some point and have someone comment on how she speaks her mother tongue with an atrocious accent.
And anyway, Scarlett Johansson in skintight latex FTW.

Well lets see Blunt was in Dan in Real Life and Charlie Wilsons War and the newone sunshine cleaners looks good.

And you can think that Scarlett is better looking but I like my girls to not be vapid chuncks of balsa wood that can't act their way out of a kindergarden prouction. YOu can take her Woody Allen movies and stuff that noise. Take the same movie and remove Allen and they are crap

Also, here's a question: does anyone know who, if anyone, Hitch based the look of Ultimate Black Widow on, a la Wanda = Angelina Jolie, Fury = Samuel L. Jackson, etc?

@Heimdall

I am not sure but I would not be surprised. If you pick up almost any book with Normal Osborn in it he looks just like Tommy Lee Jones now, I would have thought they would make him look like William Dafoe.

Alot of artists have their charecters look like celebs either to make them more accessiabel to the public, because they would love them to be that charecter in a movie or because that is who was talking on E! when they were drawing

I think Marvel Entertainment is the movie industry's version of the Pittsburgh Steelers, cheap but effective.

GO STEELERS!!!

Am I the only one in the world who thinks Scarlett is over-rated - both as an actress and on appearance? She is not the most beautiful person in the world. Not even close. Average at best. Acting = meh.

Best and worst news ever. Best because of Mickey, worst because Scarjo cannot act, and is merely a pair of breasts with an upturned nose and a monotone voice. Her with red hair will be like Alba with blonde hair, and while there's no reason besides authenticity that the Black Widow can't be blonde (or black-haired, even), it seems like an arbitrary change for a visually striking character. ...Also, she'll look like Yelena Belova, the second Black Widow, who I think is dead.

Also, Fox is a bunch of D-bags. First Watchmen, now this. And did you see this?

http://www.televisionwithoutpity.com/mwop/moviefile/2009/03/wow-fox-hates-their-paying-cus.php

It was a good choice. Scarlett is a much more interesting actress than Emily (seriously, Hollywood, quit trying to make such a bland actress into the next Julia Roberts!), and she was the only good thing about The Spirit, so I know she can handle a comic book movie.

But I feel I must come out and say this: while Scarlett has a rockin' body, her face just doesn't do it for me. Seriously, she's got a bird's face.

@ Templar - Ouch. You really need to get out of your grandma's basement more often.

You really need to find a less decrepit put-down.

Best and worst news ever. Best because of Mickey, worst because Scarjo cannot act, and is merely a pair of breasts with an upturned nose and a monotone voice.

What he said.

the thing i think is interesting is that her and her hubby are both doing their second comic book based movie..

and its also possible that scarlett took a deep paycut because she knows (or trusts in her ability,as does favureu) to nail the part that will in turn open up more doors for her..

i mean it probably wont work like it did for hugh jackman, but you never know.

@Templar - I was trying to be polite and not get into a pissing match with you. Unfortunately, it's something your 3rd grade brain can't seem to comprehend since you had to go ahead and insult me for divulging a little nerd fantasy on a site for nerds. I mean one nerd calling another nerd a loser is like a whore calling another whore a ho. To take a quote from Ferris Buller, "Pardon my French, but (Templar) is so tight that if you stuck a lump of coal up his ass, in two weeks you'd have a diamond."

Mission Complete.

Templar - I was trying to be polite and not get into a pissing match with you.

Congratulations. You failed miserably.

Unfortunately, it's something your 3rd grade brain can't seem to comprehend since you had to go ahead and insult me for divulging a little nerd fantasy on a site for nerds.

Your nerd fantasy is an insult to every nerd who ever progressed emotionally beyond the 3rd grade.

To take a quote from Ferris Buller, "Pardon my French, but (Templar) is so tight that if you stuck a lump of coal up his ass, in two weeks you'd have a diamond."

What, Ferris Bueller now? What next, oh Timely One? 23 skidoo and Scarlett's the cat's meow?

Incidentally, and on a less combative note, what are the implications of the Black Widow being married to Deadpool in real life?

Russian accents always suck.

Looks like I'm in the majority in disliking Scarlett for the part. Too young, too short, too blonde. She will be most likely encouraged to do a crappy Russian accent.

Let us hope her part is very, very small.

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! (gasp) OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

Not Scarlett "push-up bra" Johansson! NO!!! NO NO NO!!!! She's a terrible actress, and she's only lusted after because she has a crack makeup team and a kick-ass bra designer who knows how to push those puppies up and forward.

Every single movie she's in, she delivers her lines the same way. Need I remind you that she was one of the worst parts of The Spirit?

This is horrible news. She's not that attractive, she's a poor actress, and she's cheesy in any role she plays. She also looks too damned young to be the Black Widow, and she's hardly the athletic "could go toe to toe with Captain America" type.

I can think of a dozen actresses that would have been better. This is on par with casting Halle "I've been reduced to playing superheroes and can't bother to keep an African accent because I suck at it" Berry as Storm.

Man, this SUCKS. Keep Scarlett Johansson away from any and all comic book movies. She was OK in Ghost World (Thora was better, more attractive, and more interesting) but she's been a joke ever since. Fucking NO to this move.

@ Zach: Nope. Yelona's alive, and very much the bitch she always was. She's been showing up recently in Marvel books, most notably Thunderbolts.

Scarlett's a pretty good actress, not great, but she can get into the role well if it's the right type of character. That said, this is NOT her right type of character. Stuff like (as someone else mentioned) the more recent Woody Allen movies is what she needs to focus on if she expects to be taken seriously.

Emily Blunt wouldn't have been right for the movie either, though. At least that's what the YouTube clips of her acting that I just watched have led me to believe.

There's only one actress that springs to mind when I try to picture a movie Black Widow right now. Look back at the comic panel and think about Marvel's comic book movies if you have no idea who I'm talking about. Hint: she was also in GoldenEye.

I will always see Scarlett Johannson! Especially in a Black Widow costume. Yes please! Where do I pre-order tickets?

Will everyone stop complaining about Scarlett Johannson! It's Scarlett Johannson in black, tight, leather! We all win!

Will everyone stop complaining about Scarlett Johannson! It's Scarlett Johannson in black, tight, leather! We all win!

That, my good fellow, is eminently debatable.

I am with you--I'm INSANELY disappointed about the switch to Scarlett Johannson! I'm okay with her; I think she's a little overrated, but I like a bunch of the films she's been in. But I agree 100% that I can't picture her as the Black Widow, and THEN throw in the fact that they're using her to replace a GREAT actress in Emily Blunt...Fails all around...

She's beautiful, but let's face facts here: Scarlett can't act. At all. Nice to see somebody came to their senses and broke out the cash (presumably) to pay Rourke something decent though.

You know who I'd be able to cope with?

Shannon Elizabeth.

Remember her? Insanely hot. Played the Russian chick (Nadia?) on American Pie, and was pretty convincing.

Yeah, she'd be so much better than Johansson.

ScarJo, Russian Accent, Red Hair? I hope that mental image never leaves my mind.

i just realized, Mickey Roarke totally used to look like Russel Crowe, except maybe thinner