Scarlett Johansson has called on Marvel fans to “let go” of the speculation that she will return to the franchise.

The Lost in Translation actress made her Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) debut as Natasha Romanoff/Black Widow in 2010’s Iron Man 2 and played the character for more than 10 years until her 2021 standalone film Black Widow.

During an interview with InStyle, Johansson addressed the speculation that she will make a comeback and pointed out that Natasha sacrificed herself to help the Avengers defeat the evil Thanos in 2019’s Avengers: Endgame.

“Natasha is dead. She is dead. She’s dead. Okay?” she stated. “They just don’t want to believe it. They’re like, ‘But she could come back!’ Look, I think the balance of the entire universe is held in her hand. We’re going to have to let it go. She saved the world. Let her have her hero moment.”

However, her co-star Robert Downey Jr. hasn’t let his character’s death stop him from returning to the MCU. Tony Stark/Iron Man was killed off in Endgame but Downey Jr. will star in the upcoming Avengers: Doomsday as the villainous Victor Von Doom/Doctor Doom.

Johansson’s run in the MCU ended on a sour note as she sued Disney for breach of contract for releasing Black Widow in cinemas and Disney+ at the same time. After an acrimonious war of words, they reached a confidential settlement months later.

The star, who will next be seen in Jurassic World: Rebirth, is still working with Marvel/Disney as she is an executive producer on the upcoming Marvel film Thunderbolts, which stars her Black Widow co-stars Florence Pugh, David Harbour and Olga Kurylenko.

Thunderbolts will be released in cinemas on 2 May.

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