Scarlett Johansson Knew Of Her ‘Avengers: Endgame’ Character’s Fate Long Before ‘Infinity War’

As screenwriters Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely recently revealed, the death of Tony Stark and the end of Steve Rogers in Avengers: Endgame were decided long before the film and its predecessor, Infinity War, came into being. In fact, their exits from Marvel’s so-called “Infinity Saga” were initially decided upon before Captain America: Civil War was released three years prior. But what about Black Widow Scarlett Johansson’s spy-turned-hero may be coming back in a prequel film next, year, but she also met a decisive fate in Endgame.

Well, according to Johansson’s recent profile in Vanity Fair, the actress revealed she was first informed of Natasha Romanoff’s final bow before her Infinity War shoot began:

“Kevin Feige called me, as was kind of normal, just to discuss whatever the script was and what was going on. But I think he called me to tell me that. I was surprised, but I also kind of wasn’t surprised at the same time.” She says that the news didn’t jar her: “I think we all knew there were going to be some big losses.”

So, while it’s impossible to determine precisely when Feige and company decided to add Black Widow to Endgame‘s “big losses,” we at least know they chose to do it before production on Infinity War was fully underway. We also know, per Johansson’s comments to Vanity Fair, that her upcoming Black Widow film still wasn’t a sure thing then, either. “I never counted on that film really happening,” she explained. “I never count on anything happening until I’m actually standing at the craft service table.”