Scarlett Johansson open to Black Widow spin-off

Scarlett Johansson is open to making a standalone Black Widow movie.

The actress first appeared as crime-fighting superhero Black Widow in 2010's Iron Man 2 and has since played her four more times, with another stint in the pipeline.

While her Avengers co-stars Chris Evans, Chris Hemsworth and Robert Downey Jr. have all appeared in their own franchises, with Robert portraying Iron Man himself, Scarlett remains hopeful for a feature dedicated to her character.

“I would like for it to happen under the right circumstances,” she told Variety. “I think there’s a lot of opportunity to mine that story line. She’s got a really rich origins story. There’s a lot of places you can go - you can bring it back to Russia. You could explore the Widow programme. There’s all kinds of stuff that you could do with it. You could really uncover the identity of who this person is, where she comes from and where she’s part of.”

The 31-year-old added that if fans were to lobby for the film, it would probably become a reality. Though she feels a Black Widow series would have to have its own specific vibe separate from the Avengers and other Marvel movies.

In the interview, Scarlett also described how she jumped at the chance to play the seductive heroine when offered the part, especially as she knew Jon Favreau was serving as executive producer on the films.

“I loved Iron Man. It spoke to me,” she gushed. “I thought Robert (Downey Jr.)’s work was groundbreaking. It captured my attention as a person that isn’t normally a fan of that genre. It felt like we were making a big movie in a small way, or a small movie in a big way. It was an interesting challenge to be part of.”