Scarlett Johansson says she has told Hollywood studios that some of the films they offer her should not be made at all.
Johansson made the comments in an interview with the Los Angeles Times, published November 11, while discussing her latest film and how she decides which projects to accept. Her test, she said, starts with the audience. "Am I making something that other people want to see? Is there an audience for this movie? I'm not making a movie just for me," Johansson said. When the answer is no, she says so. "Sometimes I get studio projects that I have to say, 'I don't think you should make this. I don't know who you're making this for. It seems irresponsible to make this.'"
Johansson has not publicly identified the specific projects that prompted her objections, nor named the studios or executives involved.
The remarks come as Johansson balances independent filmmaking with major studio productions. She is in the cast of Matt Reeves' "The Batman: Part II," and recently spoke about her undisclosed role in the film, saying it gave her "a lot of existential angst" and was the hardest part of her recent work to pin down. The film is scheduled for release on February 18, 2028.
Her last Hollywood tentpole was 2025's "Jurassic World Rebirth." Her studio work in recent years has been dominated by Black Widow in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The comments have drawn attention because Johansson is not an outsider criticising Hollywood from the sidelines, but one of its biggest stars questioning, in public, whether some of the movies the industry chooses to make deserve to exist at all.
