Scarlett Johansson says question of whether Black Widow is a feminist is ‘obvious’

Actor stars alongside Florence Pugh in the forthcoming action film

Scarlett Johansson has said that Black Widow is reflective of the era of the Time’s Up and #MeToo movements.

Speaking ahead of the release of the new film that explores Natasha Romanoff’s past – including her relationship with her “sister” Yelena Belova (Florence Pugh) – Johansson said the movie reflects how things have changed over the past decade.

“I think this film in particular is very much reflective of what’s going on in regards to the Time’s Up movement and the #MeToo movement,” she told Empire magazine.

“It would be such a miss if we didn’t address that stuff, if this film didn’t take that head-on. I think, particularly for Cate [Shortland, director], it was so important for her to make a movie about women who are helping other women, who lift other women up out of a very difficult situation.”

Johansson also revealed that someone had asked her whether she viewed Natasha as a feminist, and responded: “Of course she is, it’s obvious. It’s kinda an asinine question.”

Director Cate Shortland recently teased that Black Widow will see Johansson ”hand the baton” to Florence Pugh in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Scarlett Johansson in ‘Black Widow’ (Disney/Marvel)

Shortland explained that, while Johansson’s first solo outing as Black Widow could also be her last, she would be leading the way for more female-led superhero films.

“[Kevin Feige] realised that the audience would expect an origin story so, of course, we went in the opposite direction,” Shortland said.

“We didn’t know how great Florence Pugh would be. We knew she would be great, but we didn’t know how great. Scarlett is so gracious, like, ‘Oh, I’m handing her the baton.’ So it’s going to propel another female storyline.”

New pictures in the magazine interview show Natasha facing off against Taskmaster, a new villain capable of mimicking the abilities and fighting techniques of anyone they encounter.

Black Widow is scheduled for release on 30 October.