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While Scarlett Johansson doesn't have any plans to return to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, she continues to have apresence over the next era of Avengers stories onscreen. Or, at least, she did until she asked for that to change.

While interviewing Red Guardian actor David Harbour for Interview Magazine, Johansson noted that they were speaking to each other on the day that Thunderbolts* was set to release in theaters. Harbour asked Johansson if she had seen the film, and she said, "No." In response, Harbour said, "Okay. You are an executive producer on it. Congratulations," to which Johansson replied, "I asked to have my credit removed because I wasn’t involved." 

For those wondering: Johansson was originally attached as an executive producer, because Thunderbolts* is ostensibly a sequel to Black Widow, which she starred in and was an executive producer on. The use of both Yelena and the Red Guardian (AKA, David Harbour!) in that movie would have meant that Johansson would have been granted an executive producer credit on Thunderbolts* - even though, as she said, she didn't actually work on the movie. And if you're curious, Marvel agreed to her request: she doesn't actually listed in the movie's credits at any point.

While Harbour and Johansson's conversation moves past this executive producer credit fiasco, I'm not. While it certainly makes sense that Johansson would want a credit removed if she didn't actually work on a project, there's also the element of her career trajectory. At this point in time, Johansson has said that she isn't interested in returning back to the MCU, so clearly she's looking to move beyond her past relationship with Marvel Studios. She even jokes about it in this interview, saying, "If [Black Widow] come[s] back from the dead, then half the world’s population dies. Didn’t you see Endgame for Christ’s sake?" and commenting, pointedly, "I’m not even contracted to Marvel and I’m still fucking holding [their] secrets."

So where will Scarlett Johansson go next after the MCU? The immediate answer is Jurassic World: Rebirth, which arrives in theaters July 2, and is the most anticipated movie of the summer according to surveys. Beyond that? If you ask me, I'd love to see her collaborate with Lost in Translation's Sofia Coppola or 2013's Her director Spike Jonze again. 

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