Why Scarlett Johansson Wanted Her Thunderbolts* Executive Producer Credit Removed

Scarlett Johansson is one of the most important actors in the history of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, having portrayed Black Widow, aka Natasha Romanoff, on screen for over a decade. The character (spoilers?) eventually died in 2019's "Avengers: Endgame," and while Johansson returned to the role two years later in the movie "Black Widow" (which takes place before "Endgame" in the MCU's timeline), she has made it clear Black Widow herself is going to stay dead. All the same, it previously appeared as though Johansson had since reunited with Marvel Studios, having landed an executive producer credit on 2025's "Thunderbolts*." However, it turns out that she tried to have that credit removed.

Johansson touched on this while speaking to "Thunderbolts*" star David Harbour, who made his MCU debut in "Black Widow," in a piece for Interview Magazine. The two spoke on the very day that "Thunderbolts*" hit theaters and had a good-natured exchange about it. But amidst the fun, Johansson revealed that she 1) hadn't even seen the movie at that point and 2) had tried to have her name removed from its credits. Here's how the exchange went:

Harbour: It's the opening day of a movie that, basically, you are the seventh Thunderbolt in. Your character is all over this movie. Have you seen it?

Johansson: No.

Harbour: Okay. You are an executive producer on it. Congratulations.

Johansson: I asked to have my credit removed because I wasn't involved.

The role of a movie producer can be tricker to explain than, say, that of a director. Some film producers don't do much and still collect a paycheck. Others are heavily involved in production. In this case, Johansson ended up not doing much, though it seems she also wasn't comfortable taking any credit for the resulting movie. This does, in turn, admittedly invite a whole host of follow-up questions regarding what went on behind the scenes here.

Let's rewind the clock to November 2021. Marvel Studios head Kevin Feige had only just confirmed Johansson was going to produce an MCU project, though it remained shrouded in mystery. It would, much later, come to light that the mystery project was indeed "Thunderbolts*," which used several characters from "Black Widow," most notably Yelena Belova (Florence Pugh) and Harbour's Red Guardian.

Even though Johansson wasn't going to appear on screen, having her input on the continuation of a corner of the MCU she had helped shape made some sense. Ultimately, Jake Schreier wound up in the director's chair. While the movie was in production, Johansson was busy making films like "Asteroid City," "Fly Me to the Moon," "Transformers One," and "The Phoenician Scheme." It's also important to remember that Johansson sued Marvel and Disney over the release of "Black Widow" on Disney+, which was settled by Disney.

So, what happened exactly? Was Johansson too busy with her other projects to be hands-on? Did the creative direction shift away from what she was originally brought on board to be a part of? Did the lawsuit sour things more than we're aware of publicly? Without Johansson offering more information, it's hard to know, but it appears, contractually at least, Marvel and Disney had to keep her "executive producer" title in the credits, even if it was against her wishes.

As for the future, a ton of Marvel actors from the past are returning for 2026's "Avengers: Doomsday" and presumably "Secret Wars" in 2027. However, Johansson has made it crystal clear that she won't be one of them. She's staying busy though, leading the cast of the upcoming "Jurassic World Rebirth," with several other projects on her to-do list as well. This is, in all likelihood, her final flirtation with the MCU, even if it was merely ceremonious.

"Thunderbolts*" is in theaters now.