Scarlett Johansson inadvertently flexed her bankroll when she was placed atop Forbes' highest paid actress list this year. The only female founding member of the Avengers in the MCU took home $40 million in the last year, and it looks like she'll keep piling on the big bucks. As detailed by The Hollywood Reporter, Johansson is set to receive $15 million for a standalone Black Widow movie.
Black Widow has been an important part of Avenger history for decades. Although The Wasp was the first female Avenger in the comics (she also helped name the team), Black Widow has been around since the 60's. She was first a villain of Iron-Man, and worked for the Russians before defecting to the US and joining the Avengers. While Black Widow does retain some of her Russian backstory in the MCU, much of her origin has either been brushed aside or altered.
The $15 million paycheck is a hefty one. Both Chris Evans and Chris Hemsworth were paid the same amount for their roles in Avengers: Infinity War. Marvel rarely pays this well for a hero's first solo movie. Robert Downey Jr. was paid $500,000 for the first Iron-Man, but his pay was boosted to $50 million by the time the first Avengers rolled around. Chadwick Boseman was reportedly paid $2 million for his role in the first Black Panther, although he will get a significant pay increase from here on out. Brie Larson was offered $5 million for Captain Marvel, but her high price tag came along with a seven-picture deal that proves she'll be the new star of the MCU.