Emily Blunt’s Lost MCU Casting Just Got Worse 14 Years After She Was Forced To Reject It

Summary

• Emily Blunt was initially primed to join the MCU as a key Avenger member, but scheduling conflicts led to missed opportunities.
• Blunt’s regret over missing out on playing Black Widow in Iron Man 2 due to her contractual obligation to Gulliver’s Travels adds to the disappointment.
• How different both Black Widow and the MCU could have been had Blunt been able to take on the role remains an interesting prospect even years later.

The fact that Emily Blunt was unable to join the Marvel Cinematic Universe has been made even worse years later. Emily Blunt was primed to join the MCU timeline and was the first pick to play a key member of the Avengers team – only to ultimately be unable to take on the role. Years later, Blunt commented on the movie she made instead, adding even further disappointment to the missed opportunity.

Emily Blunt very nearly played a central member of the MCU’s Avengers. Subsequently, the actor was a popular fancast pick for the MCU’s Invisible Woman, with many people calling for her to be cast alongside her husband John Krasinski as Mister Fantastic in Marvel’s The Fantastic Four. This too has not come to fruition, but it is the previous role that is the bigger wasted opportunity.

Emily Blunt Was First Choice To Play Black Widow

Emily Blunt was the primary candidate to play Black Widow in Iron Man 2 and the greater MCU, but had to drop out due to scheduling conflicts with another project. While Scarlett Johansson’s performance in the role quickly became popular, the prospect of Blunt embodying the character marks a missed opportunity for the franchise and the actor. Known for her versatility as an actress, Blunt has demonstrated a keen ability to embody strong, complex characters across various genres.

While Blunt’s portrayal of Natasha Romanoff would have undoubtedly diverged from Johansson’s iconic interpretation, Blunt’s past action roles provide a glimpse into her potential to excel in such a dynamic role. In movies like Edge of Tomorrow and Sicario, Blunt showcased her capacity for physicality and grit, essential qualities for a character like Marvel’s Black Widow. Emily Blunt’s brief flirtation with the character remains a tantalizing “what-if” moment in the history of superhero cinema. However, the most tragic outcome is that Emily Blunt evidently isn’t all that fond of the movie she was contracted to make instead of Iron Man 2.

The Movie Emily Blunt Had To Make Instead Of Iron Man 2

Emily Blunt was under contract with Fox to appear in Gulliver’s Travels while she was being eyed for Black Widow in Iron Man 2. This contractual obligation forced Blunt to drop out of Iron Man 2. Blunt has since expressed dismay over this predicament, making it clear that playing the MCU’s super spy may have been a more optimal outcome. The poor reception Gulliver’s Travels received only exacerbated the sense of disappointment, with Blunt disapproving of the final movie.

Blunt has subsequently doubled down on this assessment of Gulliver’s Travels, even imploring people not to watch the movie. In an interview with Hits Radio, Blunt and Ryan Gosling were promoting The Fall Guy, when Gosling praised Gulliver’s Travels. Blunt joked “We don’t talk about that film” and suggested that audiences should not watch it.

Blunt being forced to drop out of a role that she wanted and would have excelled in is frustrating enough. However, the fact she clearly isn’t keen on Gulliver’s Travels all these years later only makes it even worse. While Johansson’s portrayal of Black Widow proved to be a valued and compelling feature in the MCU, Emily Blunt‘s lost Marvel casting remains an intriguing part of the franchise’s history.