Scarlett Johansson is most known as Black Widow, a.k.a. Natasha Romanoff, a superhero. However, fans are well aware that if events had unfolded differently over a decade ago, we might have seen a completely different Black Widow in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

When Marvel Studios started casting “Iron Man 2” in 2010, Emily Blunt was the first choice to play Romanoff. She couldn’t take the part since she was busy with Jack Black comedy “Gulliver’s Travels” – a movie she didn’t want to do in the first place.

The SHIELD agent, who goes undercover to aid Tony Stark, is introduced in the first MCU film Iron Man 2.   In July 2021, her much-anticipated solo picture will be released.

During a recent interview with Howard Stern, Emily was asked about the job.

“You had to turn it down because you’re so f****** busy that you were doing Gulliver’s Travels at that point,” Stern said.

Blunt expressed her thoughts on the subject, stating she wanted to clarify why she isn’t a member of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Scarlett Johansson and Robert Downey Jr. in “Iron Man 2.” Paramount Pictures/Marvel Studios

“I was contracted to do Gulliver’s Travels. I didn’t want to do Gulliver’s Travels,” Blunt said, noting that her participation in the film bound her to a 20th Century Fox “optional picture deal.” Despite her fondness for her time on set with “a lot of really lovely people who were heaven to work with,” Blunt still has mixed feelings about the decision. “For me, it was a bit of a heartbreaker. She told Stern, “It was a bit of a heartbreaker for me. I take such pride in the decisions that I make, and they mean so much to me, the films that I do.”

Following the success of “The Devil Wears Prada,” Fox offered her a contract for one more film, which she had to complete in a set period of time. She couldn’t do “Iron Man 2” as a result, therefore she had to do “Gulliver’s Travels” to get out of her option arrangement.

“They kind of have a bit of a hold over you,” Blunt told Stern. “There were other movies that I would want to do.”

Fortunately, Blunt says she’s “never left with a regret if I turn down something.”

“It irked my heart for it to have happened in the first place,” she says, even though she “had a really good time” creating Gulliver’s Travels.

“I had to get rid of this optional picture deal, because it was going to hang over me for a long time, and I didn’t want that,” Blunt remarked.

While we may or may not see Blunt in the MCU in the near future—she has denied reports that she is in the running for the part of Sue Storm in Marvel’s forthcoming Fantastic Four film—don’t rule out the possibility of her donning a superhero costume in the future.

“For me, it’s all about the part,” Blunt said. “It’s not that I’m loathed to put on a catsuit. It’s not that at all. I just haven’t found something that really speaks to me.”

Despite having to pass on the part of Black Widow, Blunt has done well for herself, telling Stern that she believes the superhero genre has “been exhausted.”

Blunt’s next films are “A Quiet Place Part II” later this month and “Jungle Cruise” in July, both starring Dwayne Johnson.

The reports that Blunt and her husband, John Krasinski, will portray Reed Richards and Sue Storm in the film were brought up by Stern. She protested, “No, that’s fan-casting.  There hasn’t been a phone call.” Blunt, on the other hand, disagreed with Stern when he asked if the genre is “beneath you.”

She stated, “I wanted to work with Robert Downey Jr [in Iron Man 2]. It would have been amazing. But I don’t know if superheroes are for me. They’re not up my alley. It’s not to say that I would never want to play one. But in general, I don’t race to see superhero movies.” She added, “They leave me feeling a bit cold.”