Saoirse Ronan Addresses Rumors of Being Offered Black Widow Role: ‘I Can’t See Myself Doing Marvel’

Saoirse Ronan had been rumored for some time to have been offered a role in 2021’s Black Widow, a rumor that the actress recently jokingly acknowledged while explaining her stance on Marvel movies.

Speaking during a recent appearance on the Happy Sad Confused podcast, host Josh Horowitz asked Ronan if she had actually been offered the role of Yelena Belova, a role that would eventually go to Florence Pugh.

Ronan didn’t answer specifically, but instead slyly asked “How did you hear about that,” which was all Horowitz needed to hear. The actress was then asked if she had anything “against the Marvel stuff,” to which Ronan said she just couldn’t see herself doing any of those movies.

What did Saoirse Ronan say about Marvel movies?

“I can’t see myself doing Marvel,” she said (via Deadline). “I don’t . . . No, I would prefer to do Bond. There’s nothing wrong with [Marvel] and I think they’re brilliant films. I want to do more big movies. I’m at the point where I’ve done… I love making independent film, I really do, but to know — especially in this landscape that we’re in, in film right now — to know that a film is going to be seen is such a luxury.”

Despite her hesitancy to be in Marvel films, Ronan’s career has been going just fine. The highly decorated actress recently starred in the Nora Fingscheidt film The Outrun. Next, she’ll star in Steve McQueen’s historical drama film Blitz, as well as Jonathan Etzler’s comedy thriller Bad Apples.

As for the role of Belova, Pugh would go on to play the character in 2021’s Black Widow and also appear briefly as the character in the Disney+ series Hawkeye. Pugh will once again reprise her role as Belova in the upcoming Marvel ensemble film Thunderbolts*.