Upcoming Scarlett Johansson Movies To Keep On Your Radar
(Welcome to On Your Radar, a series where we take a look at what's next for the biggest actors and filmmakers, and why you should be excited...or not.)
All eyes are on Scarlett Johansson right now as she navigates a high-profile lawsuit against Disney over an alleged breach of contract regarding the release of Marvel Studios' Black Widow. While we wait for the results of that legal battle, let's look ahead and break down a few upcoming Scarlett Johansson movies that are on the way.
Sing 2
Illumination Entertainment's animated sequel to the hit original musical Sing is heading to theaters this winter, five years after the first movie debuted. Johansson once again lends her distinctive voice to the character of Ash, a punk-rock porcupine, and this time, the gang of anthropomorphized singing animals must lure a reclusive former rock star lion (played by U2 frontman Bono) out of hiding so he can headline their new show. Sing 2 arrives on December 22, 2021.
Bride
Johansson is also set to lead her first streaming movie, A24's Bride, which will be available on AppleTV+. The Oscar-nominated actress will portray "a woman created to be an ideal wife — the singular obsession of a brilliant entrepreneur. When she rejects her creator, she's forced to flee her confined existence, confronting a world that sees her as a monster. It is on the run that she finds her true identity, her surprising power, and the strength to remake herself as her own creation." Chilean director Sebastián Lelio (A Fantastic Woman, Disobedience, Gloria Bell) is behind the camera on this one, and he's co-writing the screenplay with Orange Is the New Black veterans Lauren Schuker Blum and Rebecca Angelo.
Tower of Terror (...Maybe?)
Before Johansson filed a lawsuit against one of the world's biggest media companies, she was slated to produce and star in a film based on Tower of Terror, the Disney theme park attraction. Toy Story 4 director Josh Cooley was writing the screenplay, and last we heard, no director had been attached. At this point, it's unclear if this movie will ever actually happen – I suspect the outcome of this Black Widow legal fight will determine whether both sides will be interested in working together again.
Lucy 2 (Then Again, Probably Not)
2014's Lucy was a big hit for Johansson, helping to establish the fact that she could "open" a movie outside of the Marvel Studios umbrella. After director Luc Besson's 2017 passion project Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets tanked at the box office, word came out that he had written a script for Lucy 2. Details were scarce, and it wasn't even clear if Johansson would be the lead character, considering her unusual fate at the end of the first film. But since then, several women have come forward and said they were assaulted or harassed by Besson, so it does not seem likely that this one will actually be happening any time soon.