We've been waiting for Captain America: The Winter Soldier for quite some time. Thankfully, the film starring Chris Evans and Scarlett Johansson [1] is finally hitting theaters April 4! At last year's Comic-Con, Chris and Scarlett discussed the developing camaraderie between the Captain America and Black Widow — who are now our two favorite Avengers. Below, learn more about the duo's budding friendship and Scarlett's thoughts about how women are represented in Marvel movies.
Scarlett and Chris dished on why the characters form an unlikely bond in Captain America: The Winter Soldier:
- Scarlett Johansson: "They're both agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. We're both fighting on the ground, we don't have superpowers, and we have a similar shorthand between us. It's definitely a working relationship. We fight in a similar style. They find themselves in a situation where their working relationship becomes a more intimate friendship. They have unexpected similarities between them. They have their trust issues. They've been working for 'the man' for their entire professional careers. An unexpected friendship starts to form when they begin questioning their own identity."
- Chris Evans: "The first Captain America film gives him the opportunity to be a soldier. Now that he's been given the ability to serve, the question is about what's right in a modern society. Who am I serving? With modern technology and the access, where's the line? It's not about just doing the right thing — it's what is the right thing? As a result . . . something happens. These two people need to rely on one another, and they find a lot of common ground. What's interesting about Black Widow is that she doesn't always do the right thing."
Scarlett also touched on why Joss Whedon is a pioneer in portraying female characters.
- SJ: "Superheroine movies were just not very good. They had this hands-on-hip kind of thing. And while we had a bit of that in the movie, Joss really set the bar and celebrated female characters that aren't ornaments or bookends. He was such a pioneer in fleshing out Black Widow and making her a character that could get punched in the face and could throw a punch and was an intelligent, complex, and strong female character. It's been a real pleasure for me to be able to act and not just pose. We're not just the romantic interest anymore."
Source: Disney [2]