Why We'll Never See Ryan Reynolds And Scarlett Johansson Together In The MCU

Ryan Reynolds and Scarlett Johansson are two of the world's largest superstars at the moment. While already on the rise due to both actors' talents, their popularity skyrocketed when both of them received their respective roles in the blisteringly lucrative field of superhero film adaptations. Johansson, as we know, made her mark on Marvel's brand when she began appearing as Natasha Romanoff, aka Black Widow, in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Reynolds, however, took a bit longer to find his stride. He was able to appear as his dream character, Deadpool, in "X-Men Origins: Wolverine," but much to fans (including Reynolds') chagrin, the Deadpool we see in "X-Men" is far from the quirky, leather-clad Wade Wilson from the comics. To make matters worse, that performance was followed up with DC's failed "Green Lantern" where Reynolds played the title role. Luckily, Fox went out on a limb in 2016 and enlisted Reynolds to play "Deadpool" in a bigger and better capacity.

Through these films, both Reynolds and Johansson became comic book legends. However, despite now being owned by the same company, we'll never see the two together in the MCU. This is for a multitude of reasons, not the least of which is the two's storied past together, as well as the legal red tape that kept their franchises apart.

The biggest personal reason that you'll never see Reynolds and Johansson together in the MCU is that the two were once married but have since got divorced. From 2008 to 2010, Reynolds and Johansson lived as a married couple, though they kept their relationship extremely private even then. However, it seems as if the two at least wish the best for each other. As Reynolds told E! Online, "We entered our relationship with love, and it's with love and kindness we leave it."

Even so, it's understandable that a duo with such a complicated history might want to avoid each other both personally and professionally. For a time, this was no real issue, as "Deadpool" was technically owned by Fox and remained separate from the rest of the MCU. However, the door has been opened for Deadpool to debut in the MCU after Disney bought Fox. According to Screen Geek, Marvel insider Daniel Richtman claims that Johansson's Black Widow is one of the few characters that Reynolds does not want Deadpool to meet in the wake of the merger due to their past relationship.

This may not be a major problem, however. Johansson's character has been officially dead in the MCU timeline since "Avengers: Endgame," and her appearance in her first (and final) headlining movie, "Black Widow," takes place long before "Endgame." So, it's more likely that the two were never going to interact anyway.