Scarlett Johansson squashes MCU return rumors, says Black Widow should stay dead: 'Let her have her hero moment'

It's been six years since Natasha Romanoff went over a cliff, and Scarlett Johansson is still begging fans to let it go.

"Natasha is dead. She is dead. She's dead. Okay?," the actress said during a recent conversation with InStyle. But no matter how many times she says it, she knows that hardcore fans are still trading theories and making guesses about how Marvel's Black Widow could have survived her onscreen death. "They just don't want to believe it. They’re like, 'But she could come back!'"

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Natasha made her memorable last stand in Avengers: Endgame, trading her life so the titular team of heroes could claim the Soul Stone needed to reverse Thanos' snap. If you ask Johansson, it was a pretty definitive death.

As for the naysayers who speculate that Natasha may still be alive, or could somehow return to the franchise, Johansson shared three words: "Let it go."

The actress pointed out that Natasha's death was a crucial part of the Avengers earning their win over Thanos, and that reversing it would minimize her sacrifice.

"Look, I think the balance of the entire universe is held in her hand," Johansson said. "We’re going to have to let it go. She saved the world. Let her have her hero moment."

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Johansson has long defended Natasha's final moments, arguing in 2019 that it was a big move for her, as a character who didn't make many "active choices" in her life.

"She's come into her own as a woman, saying, 'Who am I? And what do I want? And what do I need out of my relationships and also out of my own self?'" the actress said during EW's Endgame roundtable. "She's someone who's understanding her own self-worth. And that is such a powerful journey to see anybody take, but certainly to see a woman on screen represented in that way: a flawed superhero with a gray moral compass coming to terms with what's happened to her."

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Two years after her death, Natasha got a final sendoff in the form of her long-awaited solo movie: 2021's Black Widow. In addition to shedding some light on her upbringing, the film introduced Florence Pugh as Yelena Belova, who is primed to take on the Black Widow mantle.

Of course, none of that is enough to convince all of Natasha's fans that they've seen the last of her, especially now that the MCU has introduced the multiverse. It certainly doesn't help that fans have also grown skeptical when it comes to taking Marvel actors at their word. It wasn't that long ago that Andrew Garfield spent years lying to reporters — and apparently to friends — about his involvement in Spider-Man: No Way Home.

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With Avengers: Doomsday slated to hit theaters on May 1, 2026, fans are especially on alert for incoming surprises.

Johansson certainly isn't the only MCU star desperate to convince fans she isn't planning a return. Not for the first time, Chris Evans recently denied reports of his involvement in Doomsday, telling Esquire that he is "happily retired" from Marvel.

Meanwhile, fellow OG Avenger Robert Downey Jr. is making his own Marvel return as the villain of Doomsday, Victor von Doom.

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