With Gwyneth Paltrow and Jessica Chastain likely to be fighting for the affections of Robert Downey Jr.'s Tony Stark in Iron Man 3, having someone like Scarlett Johansson may have been overkill. A few weeks ago, a casting sheet had the actress set to return as Black Widow, making the jump from The Avengers and aiding Iron Man in his fight against nanobot powered terrorists. Now the actress has revealed to Screenrant that the casting report was false, and Black Widow will not play a role in Iron Man 3 after all. She does, however, express her hopes for a solo adventure starring the Russian avenger.
It's probably for the best, as the film was becoming crowded with new additions to the cast, including Ben Kingsley, Guy Pearce, Chastain, and Andy Lau. There will probably be more announcements coming as production will begin shortly. That leaves Downey, Paltrow, and Don Cheadle as the only returning players. Shane Black will direct when production kicks off next month for a planned May 3rd 2013 release.
