Emily Blunt reveals why she had to pass on ‘Black Widow’

Emily Blunt was nearly cast as Natasha Romanoff/Black Widow in “Black Widow.”

The “A Quiet Place” actress said in a recent interview on “The Howard Stern Show” that she was initially in talks to play the role in 2010’s “Iron Man 2,” but that she was was contractually obligated to work on another movie at the time. The role went to Scarlett Johansson.

Blunt said, “I actually do want to clean up the story. I was contracted to do ‘Gulliver’s Travels.’ I didn’t want to do ‘Gulliver’s Travels.’ It was a bit of a heartbreaker for me because I take such pride in the decisions that I make and they mean so much to me, the films that I do. So that was tough.”

Blunt said she adored everyone involved with “Gulliver’s,” but the film was part of a contract she signed in order to be cast in “The Devil Wears Prada.”

“I take such pride in the decisions that I make, and they mean so much to me, the films that I do,” she said. “I care very deeply, very, very much, about the choices I make. That’s all I have, the choices that I make,” she added.

She also shot down rumors that she will play the Invisible Woman in the Marvel reboot of “Fantastic Four.”

“It’s not that it’s beneath me. It’s not. I loved ‘Iron Man,’ and I wanted to work with Robert Downey Jr.,” said Blunt. “It would have been amazing, but I don’t know if superheroes are for me. They’re not up my alley. I think it’s been exhausted. We are inundated. It’s not that it’s only the movies, it’s the endless TV shows as well.”

Blunt also gushed about her “Jungle Cruise” costar Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, affectionately referring to him as “DJ” and calling him a great friend.

After delays as a result of the pandemic, Disney announced Thursday that “Jungle Cruise” will debut in theaters and Disney+ with Premier Access on July 30.

“A Quiet Place Part II” releases on May 28.