Saorise Ronan Turned Down Marvel Hero Role And Made The Right Decision
It turns out that The Acuser wasn’t the only Ronan Kevin Feigie had in mind for the MCU. New reports suggest that Disney originally courted actress Saoirse Ronan for the role of Yelena Belova in Marvel’s Black Widow.
Rumor has it Saoirse gave the Mouse the cold shoulder, leading to Florence Pugh being cast in the role of Scarlett Johansson’s younger sister instead.
Not A Marvel Fan
According to a senior reporter for Deadline, the 29-year-old multi-oscar nominee isn’t the biggest Marvel fan.
“Marvel has not been her cup of tea, and she was not interested,” the reporter said of Saoirse Ronan’s decision not to take the Marvel job. The statement seems to be at odds with earlier quotes from the actress herself regarding her eagerness to join the MCU.
Passed Over For Elizabeth Olsen?
In 2013, Saoirse Ronan was asked about her willingness to take a Marvel role—specifically the Scarlet Witch—and her response was an enthusiastic yes.
“I would. Yeah, of course I would. I love Joss, and I love those films,” Ronan said, referring to Joss Whedon, director of 2015’s Avengers: Age of Ultron.
Could the fact that she was ultimately passed over for the role of Wanda Maximoff in favor of Elizabeth Olsen have anything to do with her reluctance to join the MCU years later?
Black Widow Had Problems
Whether the actress’s motivation for turning down the Black Widow role was out of spite or because she genuinely isn’t a fan of the MCU, she dodged a bullet by declining the offer.
For one thing, the Black Widow film was plagued with setbacks during production thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Once the film finally came out in 2021 with the pandemic still raging, it did abysmal box office numbers.
A Weak Point For Marvel
On top of that, Phase 4 of the MCU is generally considered a very uneven period for Marvel.
Not only would Saoirse Ronan have been a part of one of Marvel’s lowest-grossing theatrically released films, but she would have found herself smack dab in the middle of the studio’s post-Endgame decline.
Don’t get us wrong, the character of Yelena Belova was the best part of Black Widow, but the rest of the film was just generic mid-tier action movie junk food.
Not bad, but not good either.
Other Marvel Issues
In addition to Black Widow, Phase 4 was home to such duds as Eternals, Thor: Love and Thunder, and She-Hulk: Attorney at Law—nothing an actor of Ronan’s caliber needs or wants to be associated with.
Meanwhile, Saoirse Ronan turning down Marvel probably benefitted fans as well.
In addition to Black Widow, the character of Yelena had a sizable role in the Disney+ series Hawkeye, where Florence Pugh absolutely crushed it.
Saoirse Ronan Would Have Worked
There’s no doubt an actor as talented as Saoirse Ronan would have done a respectable job with any Marvel character, but Pugh made the role of Yelena her own.
Her scenes in Hawkeye opposite Hailey Steinfeld are some of the best scenes Phase 4 has to offer, period. The macaroni with the hot sauce, the way she always said Kate Bishop’s full name when speaking to her, all of it was gold.
So yeah, it’s probably a good thing that Saoirse Ronan passed on Marvel’s Black Widow because otherwise, we wouldn’t have Florence Pugh’s Yelena Belova, easily the best character introduced in the rather weak, Phase 4 of the MCU.
Plus she’d make a better Gwenpool anyway.
Source: The Town
