Scarlett is the "Black Widow"

In Iron Man 2, due out on May 7, 2010, the continuing adventures of billionaire industrialist Tony Stark (Robert Downey, Jr.) show what stress he's been under in the six months since he revealed his alter-ego was Iron Man. With each installment of a superhero film franchise, there is the addition of new characters, both good and bad. This time around, Scarlett Johansson joins the party as Natasha Romanoff, aka Black Widow, an undercover spy posing as Stark's assistant.

Following the packed-to-capacity panel in Hall H of the San Diego Comic-Con, which debuted footage of the hotly anticipated sequel, the curvaceous sex symbol spoke to TeenHollywood about what it's like to be one of the new additions to the Iron Man universe, along with how determined she was to rock her skin-tight catsuit!

TeenHollywood: What was your Comic-Con experience like?

Scarlett: It was incredible! I've never experienced anything like that before. And, certainly, I've never experienced anything like that, two weeks after filming has wrapped. So, it's exciting to be a part of something that has this built in fan base with this electricity around it.

TeenHollywood: Is it true that you dyed your hair for your first meeting with director Jon Favreau?

Scarlett: Not for my first meeting with Jon. I'd actually met with Jon and Kevin about a year before pre-production started, and we just talked about some of the super-heroines in the Marvel universe, and one of them was Black Widow. I think they were toying with the idea of putting the character into the film, and how they would work it in. And then, when I met Jon the second time, I did have red hair. Part of that was me wanting to experiment with my hair color, and the other part of that was me hoping that Jon would like the fact that I'd experimented with my hair color.

TeenHollywood: When you had that first meeting, did they already have something in mind for you to play?

Scarlett: There were different characters, like Moon, The Scarlet Witch and The Blonde Phantom. There was a couple that I looked through and thought, "Okay, these are kind of characters that maybe could work somewhere".

TeenHollywood: Were you familiar with the character, or did you have to do a lot of research to study for the role?

Scarlett: I was familiar with the character, as far as I had researched different super-heroines, but I didn't know that much about the character's background. I only knew that she was the oldest of the super-heroines and she has this incredible fan base. She's had many incarnations. I think that the research that I did was mostly a lot of the stunt work that I put into it. The character herself remains quite mysterious, which is important. She's covert.

TeenHollywood: Black Widow was originally Russian and a KGB spy. Is your Black Widow Russian or at all tied into Mickey Rourke's character?

Scarlett: Well, you're going to have to wait and see. That would just be giving you too much. I will say that she is covert. I think that she blends in. It's not like she comes onto the scene and it's like, "Who is that Russian chick?"

TeenHollywood: So you're not using an accent?

Scarlett: No. I think that would be a little bit decadent. I don't know how covert you would be, if you were talking with a Russian accent. But, I would've if I had to.

TeenHollywood: How did you connect to the character, as an actress, aside from the physical challenge? What did you find, after you finally read the script and were on set doing scenes?

Scarlett: I think that the character is a shape shifter. It was like playing two different characters. One character that is more mysterious. I don't want to say she's submissive, but she's blending in with the crowd, I suppose. The other part of this character is someone who is assertive and knows her sh**. She's able to just say, "I'm going to fight this, head-on." For me, it was about being able to have that feeling and being competent enough to sell it, that this is somebody who is going to kick some a** and don't, for a second, doubt that she's going to follow through with the punch. It was a challenge for me, but Jon was incredible. He really supported me with this.

TeenHollywood: What were the physical challenges of this role?

Scarlett: It was all about the suit, for me. As an audience member, I hate to watch those action sequences where you don't see any of the actor's face and it's all on the back of their head and you're going, "That's a terrible stunt double." You get to know an actor's body and their mannerisms.

For me, it was really important to be able to do the stunt work and to be able to fight and feel the fight within me. So, it was a lot of training -- stunt training, weight training and all that stuff. It took strength training to try to fit that mold. I wanted to be able to look at something and go, "Okay, I'm going to knock the s**t out of that person." To believe that is a challenge in itself, especially when you're 5'3" and fighting someone who's seemingly a giant. You have to be able to have conviction in that. That was just as much of a challenge as the actual physical part of it.

TeenHollywood: How much did you do to prepare for all of that?

Scarlett: It was many, many, hours, days and months of stunt training and strength training. But, it was fun because I had a goal. The goal was the Lycra catsuit.

TeenHollywood: Coming into the second film, how do you feel the story evolved from the first one and how do you fit into the world?

Scarlett: In my mind, this whole story relates to the first one. I try to compare it with something like Hamlet. It's that dramatic second act where there's a huge climax and everything culminates in a character who can take two different paths. A lot of the characters in this film have to make a choice, and there's that iconic good versus evil that comes into play. It's not all gray. There are choices that have to be made, and a lot of characters are certainly forced to step up to the plate and realize how important they are and how invaluable they are too each other and humankind. They have to decide, "All right, I have this all in the palm of my hand. Which way do I go?"

That, to me, is epic. It's that kind of story. I think that Jon had that in mind as the arc of the character and, hopefully, the third installment will be the culmination of that, whether that be good or evil. Of course, we know that good always prevails, but I think there will be a different kind of fight to be had.

TeenHollywood: Will we see any kind of romantic connection between Tony Stark and the Black Widow?

Scarlett: You're just going to have to wait and see.

TeenHollywood: How did you like doing the superhero thing? Was it everything you imagined?

Scarlett: I have to say that I really was able to work with such an incredible and supportive group of people. That, of course, helped with any nerves I may have had. It's a lot of work because you want to buy that the character is able to kick some major a**.

TeenHollywood: Was there anything surprising about making this movie, that you didn't expect?

Scarlett: Everything was surprising to me, when I was making this movie. I was such a fan of the first one, so I was kind of geeked out by the movie, to begin with. I think 80% of the crew came back for the second one. I was really surprised to find that this movie, that was kind of seemingly larger than life, had such a small, familial feeling on set. Even though we were making this huge movie, Kevin Feige was there everyday. It just felt like the whole studio was behind the movie in a really supportive and nurturing way.

TeenHollywood: Is this a character that might be spun off and have her own film? Is that something that has been talked about at all?

Scarlett: I hope so. I think it all depends on how the fans react to the character, and I hope people like the character, of course. I love the character. You will have to ask Kevin Feige that, but I hope she does turn up, if not in her own film, then in future series and, perhaps, the next Iron Man film.

TeenHollywood: There is a lot of superhero stuff going on in your family right now, with you playing Black Widow and your husband, Ryan Reynolds, playing Deadpool. Is your place just filled with comic books?

Scarlett: I have quite a few stacks of comic books. We're in completely different universes over there, but it's something that I'm certainly delving into, for the first time. There is quite a stack.

TeenHollywood: Was the superhero genre something you wanted to get into? Was this a type of film you'd wanted to do for a long time?

Scarlett: I never really had thought about it before. Honestly, I have to say that, before I saw the first Iron Man movie, I had never really thought much about playing a superhero, of any kind.

TeenHollywood: There is no geek within you?

Scarlett: Certainly, there is a major geek within me. Actually, it's just right on the surface. When I saw the first film, it was because my Mom called me and said, "Did you see Iron Man?" I was like, "Iron Man? I would see it, but it's not really my kind of thing." So, I thought, "If my Mom is telling me to see Iron Man, it's got to be great." It's not like my Mom is a comic book fan. So, when I went to see it, I was just so blown away. I had never seen anything like that before, in this genre.

TeenHollywood: Were you happy with the way you looked in the catsuit?

Scarlett: Finally, I was, yes. I have to say that you put that much work into something, and you put it on, you better be happy with it.

TeenHollywood: When you saw yourself in that outfit, for the first time, how was it?

Scarlett: It was crazy to see it, for the first time. Once everything was all zipped up, and all the weapons were in there and the bracelets were on, the whole look was pretty sweet, I have to say. Certainly, walking on set, because a lot of the people that worked on the film were fans of the comic, and of course knew the Black Widow, they were all super excited to see the character. When they, and everybody in the crew, were like, "That looks awesome!," I knew it was okay.

TeenHollywood: How did the suit itself actually feel to wear?

Scarlett: Warm and stretchy.

TeenHollywood: When you came onboard, did they explain to you that the bigger hope is for an Avengers movie, or was the pitch just for this film?

Scarlett: No, I wasn't pitched it at all that way. I certainly think Marvel is about building a fan base around these characters and being able to extend their lives in movie roles. These are characters that they obviously have a vested interest in, and that the fans have a vested interest in.

It would be a shame to take a character like Black Widow, that's been around for so many years and has built such a fan base and had so many incarnations and could have so many different kinds of storylines and often interacts with many of the other characters in the universe, certainly with Avengers being one of those examples, and not go ahead with it. So, I think it's up to the fans, if they respond to the character. Marvel very much works that way. They're fans themselves. I think they will feel out what the masses are feeling, and hopefully that'll be good.

TeenHollywood: Kevin said that they sign actors to nine picture deals now, which is really unusual in Hollywood. Is it tough to sign on to something as epic as nine pictures?

Scarlett: As an actor, in this particular situation, and I know that Robert Downey, Jr. has become invested in these films, as much as the studio is. You're able to develop your character with the studio and have a lot of input, in that sense. So, to me, that's exciting because rarely, as an actor, do we get to take it to that level. We see a beginning, a middle and an end, and then you're done with it. But, for me to be able to build something and to think about a character that's had so many different histories and paths, and to think about where she might go and where we find out more about her, I feel like that's something that you invest yourself in and work for. But, it does scare the crap out of me, which is a little bit daunting.